Zuhaib Haider

Plasma Diagnostics and Determination of Lead in Soil and Phaleria Macrocarpa Leaves by Ungated Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

ABSTRACT Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an excellent technique that may be more convenient and less expensive by the elimination of the time gating operation. In this study, ungated single pulse LIBS was explored for the determination of lead in leaves and soil at various ambient air pressures. Ground Phaleria Macrocarpa and soil were utilized for this investigation. Matrix matched, laboratory prepared calibration samples were ablated with a Nd:YAG (1064 nm, 100 mJ, 10 ns) laser and spectra were recorded using a spectrometer equipped with a CCD detector. The pressure was optimized for the highest signal-to-noise ratio and moderate background signal. Calibration curves were drawn at the optimized ambient pressure of 500 mbar. Linear calibration curves were obtained with regression coefficients exceeding 0.98 using the lead I 363.95 nm line. The maximum relative errors in lead concentrations were 10.69% and 18.59% from Phaleria Macrocarpa and soil, respectively. Relative standard deviations of 14.99% and 3.42 were obtained for lead in Phaleria Macrocarpa and soil. The results demonstrate that ungated LIBS may be used for the determination of lead in leaves and soil with reasonable accuracy.

Comparison of Single Pulse and Double Simultaneous Pulse Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

A simple and cost-effective variant of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is presented that involves a double simultaneous pulse configuration employing a single laser source. Its performance is compared with conventional single pulse configuration. Double simultaneous pulses were accomplished by splitting a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 6 ns, 360 mJ) beam into two components that were focused on the sample surface to produce two concurrent breakdowns. Experiment was repeated for single pulse and double simultaneous pulses under different ambient pressures. The performance was evaluated on the basis of self-absorption, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and relative standard deviation (RSD) of the Mg II doublet (280.2704 nm, 279.553 nm). Optically thin emission lines of better profiles with higher signal-to-noise ratio resulted from double simultaneous pulses. The lowest relative standard deviations obtained by single pulse and double simultaneous pulse configurations were 18.89% and 12.01%, respectively. In fact, double simultaneous pulses have performed better than single pulse in all respects within the studied regime.

Effect of magnetic field on carbon nanotubes and graphene structure synthesized at low pressure via arc discharge process

Carbon nanomaterials have attracted vast attention due to the rising demand for various nanotechnology applications. The possibility of preparing multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and graphene on large scale are demonstrated using direct current arc discharge with transverse magnetic field effect at low ambient pressure. In this work, we study, the effect of external transverse magnetic effect on structural perfection of graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotube. High quality carbon-nanotube were synthesized by arc discharge plasma in Hydrogen ambient at pressure 1 mbar in presence of external transverse magnetic field. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by electron microscopy, XRD and Raman Spectroscopy. A significant increase in the quantity and quality of carbon nanotube and graphene in the presence of transverse magnetic field during arc discharge process.

Spectroscopic diagnostics of laser induced plasma and self-absorption effects in Al lines

Self-absorption (SA) can drastically affect the emission signal which makes quantitative and, in extreme cases, qualitative investigations very challenging in laser induced plasma spectroscopy. In this study, plasma parameters are spectroscopically studied and SA in aluminum emission lines is investigated at various laser energies and gate delays. Q-switched Nd:YAG laser installed on LIBS2500plus system (1064 nm, 6 ns, 10 Hz) was used for ablation. The sample was ablated in air with different laser energies between 5 and 650 mJ, and spectra were recorded at various gate delays between 0 and 23.75 μs. Intensities of spectral lines Al I 308.2 and 309.3 nm were monitored for the range of laser energies and gate delays. The intensity of spectral lines was increased in response to the increasing laser energy. Rapid increase in intensities was observed for the first microsecond after plasma ignition. The maximum intensity of Al is observed at a gate delay of 1.25 μs. Plasma conditions are investigated on the basis of electron density and temperature in response to the change in laser energy and gate-delay. The electron temperature increased from 15 413 K to 20 200 K and the electron density from 5.0 × 1016 cm−3 to 3.5 × 1018 cm−3 with increase in laser energy from 5 to 650 mJ. The electron temperature is exponentially decreased from 26 733 K to 16 649 K and the electron density is reduced from 2.0 × 1017 cm−3 to 1.0 × 1016 cm−3 for increase in the gate delay from 0 to 23.75 μs. The self-absorption effect in resonant spectral lines of Al is estimated on the basis of SA coefficient calculated using FWHM of spectral lines. The highest values of SA coefficient are found for the lowest laser energies and longest gate delays. It states that the SA is significant when the plasma temperature is low and also, when plasma is least dense. It is fairly obvious to conclude that SA effects are least prevalent when the plasma plume is induced by high laser energies and measurements are made at short gate delays.Self-absorption (SA) can drastically affect the emission signal which makes quantitative and, in extreme cases, qualitative investigations very challenging in laser induced plasma spectroscopy. In this study, plasma parameters are spectroscopically studied and SA in aluminum emission lines is investigated at various laser energies and gate delays. Q-switched Nd:YAG laser installed on LIBS2500plus system (1064 nm, 6 ns, 10 Hz) was used for ablation. The sample was ablated in air with different laser energies between 5 and 650 mJ, and spectra were recorded at various gate delays between 0 and 23.75 μs. Intensities of spectral lines Al I 308.2 and 309.3 nm were monitored for the range of laser energies and gate delays. The intensity of spectral lines was increased in response to the increasing laser energy. Rapid increase in intensities was observed for the first microsecond after plasma ignition. The maximum intensity of Al is observed at a gate delay of 1.25 μs. Plasma conditions are investigated on the ba...

Quantification of calcium using localized normalization on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data

This paper focuses on localized normalization for improved calibration curves in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) measurements. The calibration curves have been obtained using five samples consisting of different concentrations of calcium (Ca) in potassium bromide (KBr) matrix. The work has utilized Q-switched Nd:YAG laser installed in LIBS2500plus system with fundamental wavelength and laser energy of 650 mJ. Optimization of gate delay can be obtained from signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of Ca II 315.9 and 317.9 nm. The optimum conditions are determined in which having high spectral intensity and SBR. The highest spectral lines of ionic and emission lines of Ca at gate delay of 0.83 µs. From SBR, the optimized gate delay is at 5.42 µs for both Ca II spectral lines. Calibration curves consist of three parts; original intensity from LIBS experimentation, normalization and localized normalization of the spectral line intensity. The R2 values of the calibration curves plotted using locally normal...

Non-vacuum deposition methods for thin film solar cell: Review

Solar power is a promising abundant, pollution free, inexhaustible and clean source of energy. Development of cost-effective solar system with high conversion efficiency is the key challenge in field of solar panel manufacturing industry. Different non-vacuum deposition methods have been developed to reduce the cost of solar panel system along with high conversion efficiency. In this paper, a review is presented with major focus on three non-vacuum deposition methods, as spin coating, dip coating and spray coating. Each mentioned deposition technique is discussed in details along with role of different deposition parameters on the characteristics of grown solar thin films.Solar power is a promising abundant, pollution free, inexhaustible and clean source of energy. Development of cost-effective solar system with high conversion efficiency is the key challenge in field of solar panel manufacturing industry. Different non-vacuum deposition methods have been developed to reduce the cost of solar panel system along with high conversion efficiency. In this paper, a review is presented with major focus on three non-vacuum deposition methods, as spin coating, dip coating and spray coating. Each mentioned deposition technique is discussed in details along with role of different deposition parameters on the characteristics of grown solar thin films.

Development of automated system for real-time LIBS analysis

Recent developments in Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation allow the acquisition of several spectra in a second. The dataset from a typical LIBS experiment can consist of a few thousands of spectra. To extract the useful information from that dataset is painstaking effort and time consuming process. Most of the currently available softwares for spectral data analysis are expensive and used for offline data analysis. LabVIEW software compatible with spectrometer (in this case Ocean Optics Maya pro spectrometer), can be used to for data acquisition and real time analysis. In the present work, a LabVIEW based automated system for real-time LIBS analysis integrated with spectrometer device is developed. This system is capable of performing real time analysis based on as-acquired LIBS spectra. Here, we have demonstrated the LIBS data acquisition and real time calculations of plasma temperature and electron density. Data plots and variations in spectral intensity in response to laser ene...

Circuit analysis on the inductance evolution based on electrical signal from various type plasma focus device

Numerous configurations of plasma focus devices (PFD) have been introduced around the globe. The distinct electrode configuration of the PFD will give out different inductance profile. A circuit analysis has been done to study on the significant difference between the inductance evolution in a coaxial discharge based on various published results of PFD. The discharge current signal, tube voltage and current derivative of the particular shots from distinct PFD was digitized and analyze. The investigation was piloted for three different types of PFD. It was observed that there is a significant difference for the normalize inductance profile during the discharge between the individual PFD with different electrode configuration. The depletion of the radial start current with the normalised inductance development for Mather type (PF-1000) is found to be 25.9% from static discharge. The current depletion continues to drop 1.1% and 1.3% more for a Spherical type (PNK-13) and Filippov type (PF-3) respectively.

Localized normalization for improved calibration curves of manganese and zinc in laser-induced plasma spectroscopy

Laser-induced plasma spectroscopy is performed to determine the elemental compositions of manganese and zinc in potassium bromide (KBr) matrix. This work has utilized Q-switched Nd:YAG laser installed in LIBS2500plus system at fundamental wavelength. The pelletized sample were ablated in air with maximum laser energy of 650 mJ for different gate delays ranging from 0-18 µs. The spectra of samples are obtained for five different compositions containing preferred spectral lines. The intensity of spectral line is observed at its maximum at a gate-delay 0.83 µs and subsequently decayed exponentially with the increasing of gate delay. Maximum signal-to–background ratio of Mn and Zn were found at gate delays of 7.92 and 7.50 µs, respectively. Initial calibration curves show bad data fitting, whereas the locally normalized intensity for both spectral lines shows enhancement since it is more linearly regressed. This study will give a better understanding in studying the plasma emission and the spectra analysis.At...

Investigations of calcium spectral lines in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a direct and versatile analytical technique that performs the elemental composition analysis based on optical emission produced by laser induced-plasma, with a little or no sample preparation. The performance of the LIBS technique relies on the choice of experimental conditions which must be thoroughly explored and optimized for each application. The main parameters affecting the LIBS performance are the laser energy, laser wavelength, pulse duration, gate delay, geometrical set-up of the focusing and collecting optics. In LIBS quantitative analysis, the gate delay and laser energy are very important parameters that have pronounced impact on the accuracy of the elemental composition information of the materials. The determination of calcium elements in the pelletized samples was investigated and served for the purpose of optimizing the gate delay and laser energy by studying and analyzing the results from emission intensities collected and signal to backgroun...