The characteristics of resonant laser ablation for surface analysis

Resonant laser ablation (RLA) is a technique in which a pulsed tunable laser beam is directed at grazing incidence to the surface of a sample, such that neutral atoms are first ablated and then resonantly ionized by the same pulse. In this short communication the important characterstics of RLA are presented. From the results already obtained, detection levels of a few parts per million for aluminium in steel samples have been determined. The potential of RLA as a surface analysis technique is assessed.