High-throughput microanalysis of steel segregation using picosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Segregation monitoring plays an essential role in the quality control of steels, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can be employed as a diagnostic tool in this process for elemental microanalysis. In this study, we constructed an ultrafast LIBS system employing a 1.2 kHz repetition-rate picosecond laser (ps-laser) to achieve high-throughput analysis of steel segregation with a spatial resolution of 1 μm. A large-scale elemental imaging was successfully accomplished with 100 million pixels covering an area of 1 cm², while only consuming a total time of 25.27 h. The mapping results demonstrated excellent agreement with those obtained from Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA), thereby confirming the measurement reliability. Due to its comparative performance, LIBS has the potential to be developed as an alternative method for steel segregation analysis.