Laser beam steering automation with an Arduino-based CNC shield for standoff femtosecond filament-induced breakdown spectroscopic studies

Abstract

In this study, we report a novel, to the best of our knowledge, instrumentation procedure in the automation of laser beam steering for raster/spiral scanning of the samples used in standoff femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) experiments. We have used a readily available and easy-to-handle Arduino-based computerized numerical control (CNC) shield along with the free software, universal G-code sender, for the automation. Standoff femtosecond filamentation-induced breakdown spectra (St-Fs-FIBS) of metals, three compositions of Ag-Au alloy, and polyvinyl chloride, unplasticized polyvinyl chloride, and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride plastic samples were recorded using the developed automated, experimental setup. The St-Fs-FIBS spectra were recorded at a standoff distance of ∼ 5 m utilizing a simple hand-held spectrometer. Furthermore, principal component analysis technique was utilized for the successful classification of three compositions of Au-Ag alloy spectra using their St-Fs-FIBS spectral data.