Purchase of a tandem LA-LIBS femtosecond laser system for the UK

从地球的形成到受污染影响的生态系统的命运，地球和环境科学家解决了各种各样的问题。这要求我们测量许多不同样品的化学成分，包括矿物、塑料、粉尘和生物材料；这使我们能够将物理和生物过程(例如矿物的生长、塑料在环境中的分解、腐蚀、粉尘的扩散)与化学过程(例如矿物中的金属吸收、塑料中的有毒元素释放、污染化学品转移到动植物中)联系起来。只有到那时，我们才能充分确定复杂环境问题的可持续解决方案，例如(1)如何找到并可持续地开采对建设低碳基础设施至关重要的金属；(2)河流和海洋中微塑料的危险程度；以及(3)如何减少有害的空气污染。测量如此广泛的材料通常需要多种不同的仪器和方法。此外，对于许多材料(如塑料、灰尘)，很难以受控方式测量非常小的碎片。我们建议使用一种新的仪器，这是英国第一台此类仪器，可以分析广泛的地球材料和难以测量的元素，以提供对解决地质环境问题至关重要的高质量数据。新仪器利用了最近激光技术的创新，将超快飞秒激光烧蚀(FS-LA)和激光诱导击穿光谱(LIBS)结合到一个系统(FS-LA-LIBS)中。它独一无二地能够分析广泛的材料，如非常短的脉冲激光(飞秒或一万亿分之一秒！)只喷出非常薄的表面层材料，不加热下面的样品。这使得敏感材料，如塑料、液体、生物样本和灰尘，能够快速分析其化学成分。这是通过两种方式同时测量的：1)LIBS-激光能量喷射并激发原子，原子冷却时发出光辐射(光)。光谱仪测量这种光辐射的波长，并将其转换为样品的化学分析，包括用其他方法很难测量的非金属等元素。2)洛杉矶--喷射出的极小体积的样品被一股气体流吹走进入质谱仪，在那里它进入7000摄氏度的等离子体(与太阳表面一样热)，分解任何剩余的分子并产生带电离子。这些元素由质谱仪根据它们的质量和电荷进行分离，提供了对样品中微量元素浓度和不同同位素比例的高灵敏度测量。将这些技术结合到一台能够快速分析的仪器中将是英国和欧洲独一无二的，并将提供解决许多重大环境挑战所需的数据。

Earth and environmental scientists tackle diverse issues ranging from the formation of Earth to the fate of ecosystems being stressed by pollution. This requires us to measure the chemical composition of many different samples, including minerals, plastics, dust, and biological materials; this allows us to link physical and biological process (e.g. growth of minerals, breakdown of plastic in the environment, corrosion, dispersal of dust) with chemical ones (e.g. uptake of metals in minerals, release of toxic elements from plastics, transfer of polluting chemicals to plants and animals). Only then can we fully determine sustainable solutions to complex environmental problems, such as (1) how to locate and sustainably mine metals that are critical for building low-carbon infrastructure, (2) how dangerous microplastics are in rivers and oceans, and (3) how to reduce harmful air pollution. Measurement of such a broad range of materials usually requires a multitude of different instruments and methods. In addition, for many materials (e.g. plastic, dust) it is difficult to measure very small fragments in a controlled way. We propose the use of a new instrument, the first of its kind in the UK, that will allow analysis of a vast range of Earth materials and difficult to measure elements to provide high quality data critical for addressing geo-environmental problems.The new instrument capitalises on recent innovations in laser technology, bringing together ultrafast femtosecond laser ablation (fs-LA) with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) into a single system (fs-LA-LIBS). It is uniquely capable of analysing a wide range of materials, as the very short duration pulse laser (femtosecond (fs) or one quadrillionth of a second!) ejects only a very thin surface layer of material and does not heat the sample below. This allows sensitive materials, such as plastic, liquids, biological samples and dust, to be rapidly analysed for their chemical composition. This is measured simultaneously in two ways: 1) LIBS - the laser energy ejects and excites atoms, which emit optical radiation (light) as they cool. Spectrometers measure the wavelength of this optical radiation and convert it into a chemical analysis of the sample, including for elements such as non-metals that are very difficult to measure in other ways. 2) LA - the tiny volume of ejected sample is swept away by a stream of gas into a mass spectrometer, where it enters a 7000degC plasma, (as hot as the Sun's surface), breaking down any remaining molecules and producing charged ions. These are separated by the mass spectrometer according to their mass and charge, providing highly-sensitive measurement of the concentration of trace elements and ratios of different isotopes in the sample. The combination of these technologies in one instrument capable of rapid analysis will be unique to the UK and Europe, and will provide the data required to tackle many major environmental challenges.