Large modulation of ion dynamics for discharge-assisted laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Discharge-assisted laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (D-LIBS) represents a highly promising technique in trace detection. Howev-er, it consumes large amounts of energy causing severe environ-mental pollution. Herein, we demonstrate a modulation approach based on ion dynamics to reduce energy costs and environmental hazards. This modulation traps and confines numerous charged par-ticles in an effective discharge space. It then maintains the charged particle electric-drift dynamics in the millisecond timescale, largely facilitating electric energy coupling to laser plasma and prolonging plasma lifetime. Compared with conventional D-LIBS, both the electric energy and limit-of-detection are reduced by one order of magnitude, while maintaining over two orders of magnitude signal enhancement. Combined with optimized wavelet transform de -noising, the sensitivity is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than recently reported levels for typical elements. Examining electric characteristics, plasma dynamics, and signal stability further verifies the modulation validity. These low-harm, low-power, and high-sensitivity advantages pave the way for high-efficiency applica-tions of D-LIBS in rapid and real-time analysis.