Electronics Free Laser Sensing Technology for Minerals and Technology Elements

As the global demand of high-tech elements is growing with the progress in technology, progress in field applicable sensing technologies is also essential. The sensing technologies are not only crucial for fast source identification but also the qualitative and quantitative study of useful metal species. In this presentation, an electronics free laser sensing technique will be discussed with its ongoing and potential applications. A laser-based technique, popularly known as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, has been prototyped for the determination of high-tech elements including rare earth elements and other elements in solid as well as aqueous sources. The optical unit without any electronics has been designed in such a way that it can be installed in the source environment and connected to other required components for controlling and data acquisition from the workstation. Measurement methods and results obtained for the selected elemental species and overall performance of the developed prototype will be presented.