Hybrid LIBS System for Portable Gold Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current LIBS systems face challenges in achieving high sensitivity comparable to laboratory or industrial systems while maintaining portability, particularly in harsh environments like gold mining, where bulky and costly high-resolution spectrometers are required for detecting gold at low concentrations, leading to production delays and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid LIBS system with a compact design incorporating a high-resolution spectrometer for narrowband spectral analysis and a low-resolution spectrometer for broadband analysis, enabled by dichroic filters and optical fiber links, allowing for on-site detection of gold concentrations down to 1 ppm without sample preparation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a high-resolution spectrometer is used to detect gold at low concentrations, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spectrometer is divided into two independent detection channels: a high-resolution channel for detecting gold spectral lines at low concentrations, and a low-resolution channel for detecting matrix elements. Each channel is optimized for its specific function, allowing the system to achieve high gold detection sensitivity without requiring the entire system to be high-resolution, thus reducing overall device complexity and volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spectral dimension separation by using dichroic mirrors to split the incoming light into different wavelength ranges. The high-resolution detector focuses on specific narrow spectral lines of gold, while the low-resolution detector covers broader spectral ranges for matrix identification. This dimensional separation in spectral space allows simultaneous optimization for both detection tasks.
2Measurement precision
If a high-resolution spectrometer is used for gold detection, then measurement precision is improved, but the system volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spectrometer is divided into two independent detection channels: a high-resolution channel for detecting gold spectral lines at low concentrations, and a low-resolution channel for detecting matrix elements. Each channel is optimized for its specific function, allowing the system to achieve high gold detection sensitivity without requiring the entire system to be high-resolution, thus reducing overall device complexity and volume.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the spectral range are assigned different resolution qualities. The high-resolution detector is optimized specifically for the narrow spectral lines of gold, while the low-resolution detector handles the broader spectral ranges needed for matrix identification. This local optimization allows each detector to be compact while performing its specific function effectively.
3Measurement precision
If laboratory-grade components are used for optimal performance, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation in field conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spectrometer is divided into two independent detection channels: a high-resolution channel for detecting gold spectral lines at low concentrations, and a low-resolution channel for detecting matrix elements. Each channel is optimized for its specific function, allowing the system to achieve high gold detection sensitivity without requiring the entire system to be high-resolution, thus reducing overall device complexity and volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dichroic mirrors to split the spectral range into different segments, with each segment detected by a detector optimized for its specific wavelength range and resolution requirement. This parameter-based segmentation allows the use of smaller, more portable detectors while maintaining the precision needed for gold detection at 1 ppm levels.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hybrid system provides fast, real-time analysis of gold content and matrix identification, reducing production delays and costs by enabling portable, sensitive, and robust elemental analysis in mining environments.
Implementation Method 1
a pulsed laser source (24) generating light pulses (26) apt to create a plasma (23) upon irradiating a sample (22)
Implementation Method 2
the light pulses (26) from the laser source towards the probing interface; and the plasma light from the probing interface towards the element detection assembly
Implementation Method 3
an upstream dichroic filter (42) centered on a wavelength of the light pulses (26), the upstream dichroic filter (42) being positioned to respectively direct: the light pulses (26) from the laser source towards the probing interface (50)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
A LIBS system to detect constituent elements of interest within a sample from plasma light resulting from irradiation of this sample is presented. The LIBS system has a hybrid configuration which provides both a low-resolution spectrum of the plasma light covering a broad spectral range, and a high-resolution spectrum of the same plasma light over a narrow spectral range centered on a spectral line or feature of a constituent element of interest of the sample. In some implementations, the LIBS system has a portable design and can perform onsite sample analyses.