Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for gemological testing

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an analytical technique widely applied in many fields, including geological materials and Cultural Heritage. Its use in gemological analysis, although at the present rather limited, is very promising because of the intrinsic characteristics of the technique, which allow for a fast analysis on untreated samples at costs extremely competitive with respect to other analytical techniques commonly used in the field. Recent improvements of the LIBS technique strongly reduce the surface damages on the samples, thus making possible the analysis of precious stones and gems without leaving visible traces on the gemstones.