Fig. 45.

Profile of a laser pit made with 500 shots in dolomite, and a side view of a slice near the surface. (a) Profile of the laser pit. (b) Backscattered electron image of the same dolomite sample in thin section; the natural exterior of the rock is seen near the top of the image, with the outline of the LIBS pit from (a) in black (the pit was not made at this location, but the scale of features can be compared). The weathered surface of the terrestrial dolomite is a different composition than the interior rock, and LIBS depth profiles sample and differentiate between exterior and interior compositions. The LIBS pit is approximately cone shaped but shows some variation due to the properties of the beam