Ecco is a new turnkey system from Foster & Freeman designed to generate and compare laser induced breakdown spectra.
A simple-to-use bench top instrument, Ecco provides elemental analyses of materials such as glass, paint and bullets and can be effective in matching or identifying substances of forensic value.
Ecco features include:
- Q-switched YAG laser with 1064nm emission
- wavelength range 200-600nm
- sample viewing video camera
- XYZ sample positioning/focusing stage
- firewire and USB interfaces to a PC
- comparative display of spectra
- forensic casework management system
- full laser safety features
- full technical back up and training.
Laser Induced Breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) LIBS, is a relatively new technique for the analysis of materials which has been made possible by the advent of very high intensity pulsed lasers. These provide enough energy in a brief instant to vaporise matter and raise its temperature by thousands of degrees. The excited matter produced by the laser pulse subsequently emits a characteristic visible spectrum as the various elements return to their normal temperature state.
The spectrum can be used to identify many of the basic elements in a substance and for identifying or distinguishing between substances by means of spectral comparison. Ecco can be used as an alternative to conventional analytical techniques such as mass spectroscopy.
LIBS with Ecco is fast and simple to perform with minimal sample preparation and only requires a basic technical understanding to achieve reproducible results. Once the operator has located and focused on to the sample for analysis a spectrum takes only a few seconds to capture and the spectra from two or more samples may be readily displayed for comparison.
Ecco provides you with a turnkey system complete with PC, interfaces and software for the rapid analysis of forensic material. Foster & Freeman guarantee you the technical support to use the LIBS technique effectively.
