Analysis of gadolinium oxide using microwave-enhanced fiber-coupled micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

池田 裕二*; Soriano, J. K.*; 大場 弘則; 若井田 育夫

Scientific Reports (Internet), 13, p.4828_1 - 4828_9, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32146-x

We report on the analysis of pure Gd oxide and its detection when mixed in surrogate nuclear debris using microwave-enhanced fiber-coupled micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The target application is remote analysis of nuclear debris containing U inside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The surrogate nuclear debris used in this study contained Gd, Ce, Zr and Fe. The sample was ablated by microchip-laser under atmospheric pressure conditions while a helical antenna propagated 2.45 GHz 1.0 kW microwaves for 1.0 ms into the laser ablation plume. The results showed that microwave-induced plasma expansion led to enhanced emission signals of Gd I, Zr I, Fe I, Ce I, and Ce II. Microwave irradiation enhanced the standard deviations of the Gd and Ce emissions and lowered the detection limit of Gd by 60%.