ChemCam est à bord de la mission Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) qui a décollé pour Mars le 26 novembre 2011. Cet instrument est très innovant car c'est la première fois que la technique du LIBS ("Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy") est utilisée pour l'exploration planétaire, afin d'étudier la géochimie des sols et roches à la surface de la planète rouge. Cette technique permet de déterminer la composition chimique de la cible analysée, en focalisant un laser à sa surface. Un plasma se créé alors par échauffement de la matière. L'analyse spectrale de la lumière émise du plasma permet d'identifier les éléments présents dans la roche, ainsi que leur concentration. Ce travail de thèse contribue à la préparation du retour scientifique de la mission MSL et de l'instrument ChemCam autour de quatre axes principaux : (i) identification et caractérisation des raies spectrales pertinentes, (ii) test des méthodes de classification des roches avec ces mesures, (iii) étude de la sensibilité aux vernis d'altération des roches ou à la couche de poussière, (iv) analyse des données pour extraire des informations sur la structure et la composition des roches. Une station sol a été développée afin d'imiter les conditions atmosphériques à la surface de Mars. Une bibliothèque de raies élémentaires a été réalisée. Cette dernière est spécifique à ChemCam et à la géochimie de Mars, et contient plus de 1300 raies. La classification des roches est efficace, quelque soit le type de cible. Les différents paramètres (distance, traitement des données, ..) pouvant influencer ces classifications ont également été caractérisés. ChemCam permet de réaliser des analyses quantitatives, que ce soit par des méthodes statistiques ou plus conventionnelles. Nous avons montré que cet instrument est capable d'analyser aussi-bien la couche d'altération d'un basalte que la roche saine au dessous. Il permet également d'effectuer des analyses très fines, comme la comparaison de différentes matrices de roches volcaniques, ou encore de la structure interne des argiles. Pour finir, ces études expérimentales réalisées durant la thèse ont démontré que ChemCam répondait à toutes les spécifications imposées au début de sa conception.

The presence of deposits on the secondary side of pressurized water reactor (PWR) steam generator systems is one of the main contributors to the high maintenance costs of these generators. Formation and transport of corrosion products formed due to the presence of impurities, metals and metallic oxides in the secondary side of the steam generator units result in formation of deposits. This research deals with understanding the deposit formation and characterization of deposits by studying the samples collected from different units in secondary side system at Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station (CPSES). Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) have been used for studying the phases, morphologies and compositions of the iron oxides formed at Unit 1 and Unit 2 of secondary side of steamgenerator systems. Hematite and magnetite were found to be the dominant phases of iron oxides present in the units. Fe, Cr, O, Ni, Si, Cl and Cu were found in samples collected from both the units. A qualitative method was developed to differentiate iron oxides using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) based on temporal response of iron oxides to a high power laser beam. A quantitative FTIR technique was developed to identify and quantify iron oxides present in the different components of the secondary side of the steam generator of CPSES. Amines are used in water treatment to control corrosion and fouling in pressurized water reactors. CPSES presently uses an amine combination of dimethylamine (DMA), hydrazine and morpholine to control the water chemistry. Along with the abovementioned amines, this study also focuses on corrosion inhibition mechanismsof a new amine DBU (1, 8-diazabicyclo [5.4.0] undec-7-ene). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization curves were used to study the interaction mechanism between DBU solution and inconel alloys 600 and 690 at steamgenerator operating temperatures and pressures. Of all the amines used in this study (DMA, DBU, ETA, and morpholine), DMA was more effective at keeping the passive film formed on the alloy 600 surface from failing at both ambient and high temperatures. Morpholine was found result in higher corrosion resistance compared to the other amines in case of alloy 690.

A cultura da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil é uma das atividades mais relevantes na agroindústria nacional devido ao alto potencial de produção e elevada importância econômica de seus subprodutos como e.g. açúcar e etanol. Embora o Si não seja considerado um elemento essencial, a adubação silicatada tem proporcionado aumentos apreciáveis na produtividade da cana-de-açúcar e na resistência a algumas pragas e doenças. Ainda não existem métodos bem estabelecidos para a determinação de Si em material vegetal visando à diagnose foliar. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um método para determinação de Si em pastilhas de folhas de cana-de-açúcar por espectrometria de emissão óptica com plasma induzido por laser (LIBS). O arranjo experimental foi composto por um laser pulsado de Nd:YAG a 1064 nm (pulsos de 5 ns, 360 mJ, 10 Hz) e os sinais de emissão foram coletados por um telescópio acoplado por fibra óptica ao espectrômetro Echelle com detector ICCD. Amostras laboratoriais consistiram de pastilhas preparadas com folhas de cana-de-açúcar moídas criogenicamente por 40 min. Melhores resultados foram obtidos quando a linha de emissão Si I 212,412 nm foi selecionada e os parâmetros instrumentais foram ajustados em 25 pulsos acumulados, 50 J cm-2, diâmetro de focalização de 750 \'mü\'m, 2,0 \'mü\'s de atraso e 4,5 \'mü\'s de integração. Os resultados obtidos por LIBS na análise de pastilhas de 20 amostras laboratoriais foram comparados com os obtidos por espectrometria de emissão óptica com plasma acoplado indutivamente (ICP OES) após decomposição alcalina e por espectrometria de micro-fluorescência de raio-X por energia dispersiva (\'mü\'ED-XRF) após análise direta das pastilhas. Aplicando-se o teste t de Student pareado, não foram verificadas diferenças significativas ao nível de 95% de confiança nas determinações de Si por LIBS, ICP OES e \'mü\'ED-XRF. Os resultados obtidos nesta tese indicam a viabilidade de LIBS para determinação direta de Si em pastilhas de folhas de cana-de-açúcar e abrem uma expectativa para futuras explorações de LIBS em análises em campo / The high production of sugarcane and its subproducts (e.g. sugar and ethanol fuel) make this crop one of the most important for the Brazilian agro-industrial economy. Although Si is not considered an essential element, the Si-based fertilizers have provided considerable improvement in productivity of sugarcane and resistance to some pests and diseases. At moment, there are no well-established methods for the determination of Si in plant materials aiming at nutritional diagnosis. The aim of this work was to develop a method for Si determination in pellets of sugarcane leaves by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The experimental setup was designed by using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (5 ns, 360 mJ, 10 Hz, \'lâmbda\' = 1064 nm) and the emission signals were collected by lenses into an optical fiber coupled to an Echelle spectrometer equipped with an ICCD. Pellets prepared from cryogenically ground sugarcane leaves were used as laboratory samples. Best results were obtained when the Si I 212.412 nm emission line was selected and the instrumental parameters were adjusted at 25 laser shots, 50 J cm-2, 750 \'mü\'m laser spot size, 2.0 \'mü\'s delay time and 4.5 \'mü\'s integration time gate. The results obtained by LIBS in the analysis of pellets of 20 laboratory samples were compared with those from inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) after alkaline digestion and by microenergy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (\'mü\'ED-XRF) after direct analysis of pellets. By applying a paired t-test at 95 % confidence level, there was no significant difference in the Si determination by LIBS, ICP OES and \'mü\'ED-XRF. The findings of this thesis indicate the feasibility of LIBS for the direct determination of Si in pellets of sugarcane leaves and open expectations for future investigations of LIBS for field analysis

Nos últimos 20 anos, a espectroscopia de emissão ótica com plasma induzido a laser (LIBS) tem se tornado uma das mais promissoras ferramentas em química analítica, cujas aplicações são destinadas às análises multi-elementares em amostras nos estados sólido, líquido e gasoso. Suas aplicações são as mais diversas, pois sua instrumentação é relativamente simples e pode ser portátil. Em especial, a LIBS apresenta grande potencial de uso na agricultura, com diversas publicações que exploram, principalmente, a concentração de carbono em solos. Entretanto, a construção de modelos gerais de calibração é uma das maiores dificuldades da técnica, pois ela está suscetível aos efeitos de matriz que adicionam comportamentos não-lineares às intensidades das emissões. Com intuito de compreender quais são as principais causas dessa dependência, este trabalho avaliou relações entre propriedades físicas do plasma LIBS e as inclinações das curvas de calibração para cinco emissões de carbono em amostras sintéticas de diferentes potenciais de ionização, sendo elas KCl e H3BO3 com 1% de CuSO4 e concentrações entre 0 e 10 % de carbono. Constatou-se que temperatura e densidade de elétrons dependem inversamente da concentração de carbono nas amostras, o que provavelmente está associado às taxas de ablação de material da amostra e recombinação no interior do plasma. Ademais, esses parâmetros em plasmas originados das amostras de KCl + CuSO4 são maiores do que para a matriz de H3BO3 + CuSO4, além de que apenas plasmas originados da primeira matriz satisfizeram o critério de McWhirter para C I, Cu I e Cu II em todas as concentrações de carbono, indicando que eles devem apresentar condições de equilíbrio termodiâmico local. O mesmo não foi obtido para o caso da matriz de H3BO3 + CuSO4, o que pode explicar suas elevadas incertezas nos valores da temperatura e densidade de elétrons. Verificou-se ainda que as inclinações das curvas de calibração para o carbono foram maiores para o caso da matriz com elementos majoritários de menor potencial de ionização e que isso está diretamente relacionado às propriedades intrínsecas dos plasmas originados, o que corrobora a hipótese deste trabalho. Além disso, cálculos de correlação entre a área do pico de carbono em 247,89 nm e cada ponto dos espectros LIBS mostraram que a emissão de Cu II em 224,72 nm linearizou as curvas de calibração, minimizando os efeitos de matriz. Por fim, este trabalho contribuiu tanto com avanços no conhecimento até então existente a respeito dos efeitos de matriz quanto com um eficiente conjunto de técnicas analíticas para espectros, cujo potencial de aplicação é enorme. / In the last 20 years, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been one of the main tools in analytical chemistry, whose applications are destinated to multi-elementar analysis in solid, liquid or gaseous samples. Its use is diverse, since its instrumentation is relatively simple and can be portable. In particular, LIBS has a great potential for use in agriculture, with many publications that explore mainly the carbon concentration in soils. However, the construction of general calibration models is one of the greatest difficulties of the technique, since it is susceptible to matrix effects that add non-linear behaviors to the emission intensities. In order to understand the main causes of this dependence, this study evaluated the relationships between physical properties of the LIBS plasma and the slope of the calibration curves for carbon emissions in synthetic samples with different ionization potentials. Those samples were made of KCl and H3BO3 with 1% of CuSO4 and carbon concentrations ranging from 0 to 10%. It was found that the plasma temperature and electron density are inversely proportional to the carbon concentration in the samples, which is probably associated with rates of sample ablation and recombination within the plasma. In addition, these parameters in plasmas originating from the samples of KCl + CuSO4 are larger than those originating from the matrix of H3BO3 + CuSO4 at all carbon concentrations, indicating that the first matrix must be in local thermodynamics equilibrium. However, similar results were not found for the other matrix which may explain its high uncertainties in the values of temperature and electron density. It was verified that the slope of the carbon calibration curves were higher for the matrix with elements of low ionization potential than for the other matrix and that this is directly related to the intrinsic properties the plasmas originated, which corroborates the hypothesis of this study. Furthermore, the analysis of correlation between the carbon peak area at 247.89 nm and each point of the LIBS spectra have shown that the Cu II emission at 224.72 nm linearized the calibration curves, minimizing the matrix effects. Finally, this study contributed with advances in the knowledge about matrix effects and with an efficient set of analytical tools for spectra whose application potential is huge.

A soja e os seus derivados são uma das mercadorias agrícolas mais valiosas e comercializadas no mundo. O Brasil é o segundo maior produtor mundial de soja, cujo complexo é o principal gerador de divisas cambiais para o país. Porém, um dos principais fatores que podem limitar os rendimentos da cultura e a qualidade dos produtos é a presença de doenças. Para evitar maiores prejuízos é importante identificar rapidamente qual doença acomete a planta e determinar o método mais eficaz de manejo. Atualmente, uma doença recém descoberta que causa preocupação aos produtores é a infestação pelo nematoide Aphelenchoides besseyi, causador da, popularmente conhecida, Soja louca II. Ainda não existem métodos que proporcionem um diagnóstico preciso para a doença, sendo este realizado por inspeção visual da plantação. Sabendo que plantas sadias e doentes apresentam perfis nutricionais diferentes, este trabalho vem propor o uso da técnica analítica LIBS, associada ao método livre de calibração (CF), como uma ferramenta alternativa para diagnóstico da doença. A técnica LIBS permite análises multielementares simultâneas, de maneira rápida e de baixo custo. Já o método CF tem por principal vantagem dispensar o emprego de qualquer padrão de matriz compatível, ou material de referência, para as quantificações em LIBS, fazendo-o com base nas características físicas do plasma formado. Assim, a associação de ambos se torna absolutamente adequada para determinações analíticas em amostras desconhecidas. Neste trabalho, foram conduzidos estudos de caracterização qualitativos, por meio de um sistema LIBS de baixa resolução, e avaliações semiquantitativa e quantitativa por meio de medidas LIBS em um sistema com detecção de alta resolução (DP LIBS). O primeiro estudo demonstrou que, qualitativamente, as variações nos macroelementos Ca, Mg e K presentes nas folhas de soja, permitiu alcançar, em média, 90% de acurácia na diferenciação entre amostras doentes e sadias, e inferir que a doença provoca relativa diminuição da concentração de Ca e Mg, e um pequeno aumento nos níveis de K. As quantificações obtidas pelo método CF foram consideradas satisfatórias, além de pioneiras nas análises de amostras de folhas de soja puras. A partir dos perfis nutricionais quantificados foram construídos classificadores (classificação via regressão associada à regressão por mínimos quadrados parciais), cuja acurácia alcançada foi de 94%, 92% e 90%, respectivamente para os dados de concentração obtidos pela técnica de referência, e DP LIBS+CF nas geometrias colinear e ortogonal. Na tentativa de eliminar o emprego de qualquer reagente, e ainda assim obter uma ferramenta diagnóstica precisa, foi conduzido um estudo semiquantitativo, também a partir da associação DP LIBS+CF. Baseado nas relações elementares entre os analitos que compõem a amostra, este apresentou acurácia diagnóstica superior a 90% para a geometria ortogonal. Portanto, este estudo permitiu o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para diagnóstico que respeita 100% dos preceitos da Química Verde, e agrega muito ao sistema atual, quando o que se deseja é uma avaliação diagnóstica rápida para tomada de decisão imediata no campo. / Soybeans and their by-products are one of the most valuable and traded commodities in the world. Brazil is the second largest soybean producer in the world, whose soy complex is the main generator of foreign exchange for the country. However, one of the main factors that can limit crop yields and product quality is the occurrence of disease. To avoid further damage, it is important to quickly identify which disease affects the plant and determine the most effective method of management. Currently, a disease newly discovered and of concern to producers is the infestation by the nematode Aphelenchoides besseyi, which causes the disease known as GSFR (Green Steam and Foliar Retention). There are still no methods to provide a precise diagnosis for the disease, which is, nowadays, performed by visual inspection of the plantation. Knowing that healthy and diseased plants have different nutrient profiles, this work proposes the use of the LIBS technique, associated with the calibration free method (CF), as an alternative tool for the disease detection. The LIBS technique allows simultaneous multi-element analysis, quickly and inexpensively. The CF method has the main advantage of avoiding the use of any compatible standard matrix, or reference material, for LIBS quantifications, based on the physical characteristics of the plasma formed. Thus, the association of both becomes absolutely suitable for the analytical determination of unknown samples. Qualitative characterization studies using a low-resolution LIBS system, and semiquantitative and quantitative analysis using LIBS measurements in a high-resolution detection system (DP LIBS), were performed. The first study showed that it was possible to achieve, on average, 90% accuracy in the differentiation between diseased and healthy samples, and to infer that the disease provokes relative decrease in Ca and Mg concentration, and a small increase in K levels. Quantifications achieved by the CF method were considered satisfactory since it is a pioneer study in the analysis of pure soybean leaves. Classifiers were constructed from the nutritional profiles quantified by CF, applying classification via regression associated with partial least square regression, with accuracy of 94%, 92% and 90%, respectively, for the concentration data obtained by the reference technique, and DP LIBS + CF colinear and orthogonal. In attempt to eliminate the use of any chemical reagent and still obtain an efficient diagnostic tool, a semiquantitative study was conducted, also from the DP LIBS + CF association and based on the elementary relations between the analytes that make up the sample, with accuracy diagnosis greater than 90% for DP LIBS in orthogonal geometry. Therefore, this study allowed the development of a diagnostic methodology that respects 100% of green chemistry principles, and adds a lot to the current system, if the desire is a rapid diagnostic evaluation for immediate decision making in the field.

La contamination par métaux des eaux est un enjeu de santé publique important. Des contrôles et traitements de plus en plus drastiques sont ainsi effectués sur les eux destinés à la consommation humaine. Il est indispensable, pour cela, de posséder des outils analytiques fiables et sensibles, adaptés aux réglementations existantes et suffisamment souples d'utilisation. La technique de « Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy » (LIBS), ayant fait ses preuves pour l’analyse des solides, y compris dans les explorations exo-terrestres, présente des avantages très intéressants pour les liquides dont, par exemple, sont caractère multi-élémentaire et la possibilité des mesures in-situ de la contamination des eaux par métaux.Un première volet d’étude de ce travail de thèse à permis d'étudier les potentialités de la spectroscopie sur plasma induit par laser (LIBS) pour l'analyse des métaux dissous ou en suspensions dans les eaux. Etude qu’a permis de constater un effet important lié à la taille des particules lors de l’analyse de suspensions. Un deuxième volet consisté à regarder les effets de matrice organique représentée par un acide humique et ceux des minéraux naturels représentés par la bentonite et des particules d’alumine. Effets matrice qu’ont étais corriges par une normalisation par étalon interne. / Metal contamination of water is a major public health issue. Controls and treatments are more drastic and performed on them for human consumption. It is essential for this to possess reliable and sensitive analytical tools adapted to the existing regulations and flexible enough to use. The technique of "Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy" (LIBS), proven for the analysis of solids, including exo-terrestrial explorations, this very interesting advantages for liquids including, for example, are multi-character elementary and the possibility of in-situ measurements of water contamination by metals.A first part of this study thesis allowed to explore the potential (LIBS) for the analysis of dissolved metals or suspensions in water. Study has found an important effect related to the particle size in the analysis of suspensions. A second prong is to look at the effects of organic matrix represented by humic acid and those natural minerals represented by the bentonite and alumina particles. The matrix effect observed was corrected by normalization by internal standard.

Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Untersuchung der Eignung der laserinduzierten Plasmaspektroskopie (LIBS) bei der Online-Analyse der Materialströme in einer Sortieranlage zwecks Identifizierung der Legierungen am Beispiel der Aluminiumknetlegierungen. Als Ansatz sollten hierbei neuartige Laserquellen wie Faserlaser oder diodengepumpte Festkörperlaser verwendet werden, die mit deutlich höheren Repetitionsraten als häufig verwendete blitzlampengepumpte Festkörperlaser betrieben werden können. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde eine systematische Untersuchung der laserinduzierten Plasmaspektroskopie mit diodengepumpten Festkörperlasern als Anregungsquelle durchgeführt. Hierbei konnte festgestellt werden, dass die LIBS mit solchen Anregungsquellen ein gutes Nachweisvermögen und eine gute Stabilität besitzt. Ferner wurde ein Prototyp für die Online-Analyse der Aluminiumlegierungen entwickelt und mit einem kommerziell erhältlichen System verglichen. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass das Nachweisvermögen des Prototyps für einige Fragestellungen bei der Sortierung von Aluminiumlegierungen ausreichend ist. Bei dem kommerziell erhältlichen System konnten dagegen selbst bei einer Fördergeschwindigkeit von 3 m/s Nachweisgrenzen erreicht werden, die für sämtlichen aktuellen analytische Fragestellungen auf diesem Gebiet ausreichend sind. Anschließend wurden die analytischen Güteziffern des kommerziell erhältlichen Systems verbessert, indem verschiedene multivariate Analysemethoden und Datenvorverarbeitungstechniken untersucht und optimiert wurden. Im nächsten Schritt wurde das System mit den optimierten Analysemethoden für die Sortierung der realen Produktionsschrotte eingesetzt. Hierbei konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Sortierung von Aluminiumlegierungen in verschiedene Gruppen der Aluminiumknetlegierungen bei einer Fördergeschwindigkeit von 3 m /s mittels LIBS möglich ist. Im letzten Schritt wurden die Möglichkeiten der Übertragung der Methoden von einem Gerät auf ein anderes untersucht. Hierbei konnte ein Algorithmus ermittelt werden, bei dem ein derartiger Transfer möglich ist. Somit kann dieser bei einer Serienproduktion der Systeme eingesetzt werden, um den experimentellen Aufwand bei der Kalibrierung drastisch zu reduzieren. / The aim of this study was the investigation of the suitability of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for online analysis of material flow in a sorting plant for identification of alloys on example of aluminum wrought alloys. As a new approach in this study, new laser sources such as fiber lasers or diode-pumped solid state lasers, which can be operated with significantly higher repetition rates as broadly used flash lamp pumped lasers, were used. In this work, a systematic study of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with diode-pumped solid-state laser as an excitation source has been studied. It was found that LIBS with such excitation sources has good detection capability and good stability. In addition, a prototype for the online analysis of the aluminum alloys was developed and compared with a commercially available system. It could be determined that the detection capability of the prototype was sufficient for some analytical tasks in sorting of aluminum alloys. The limits of detection of the commercially available system were even at conveyor belt speed of 3 m/s sufficient for all current analytical tasks in this field. Subsequently, the analytical figures of merit of the commercially available system were improved by the study and optimization of the different multivariate analysis techniques and data pretreatment algorithms. In the next step, the system with the optimized analytical methods was used for sorting the real production scrap. It could be demonstrated that the sorting of aluminum alloys in different groups of aluminum wrought alloys at a conveyor speed of 3 m /s is possible by the use of LIBS. In the last step, the possibilities of transfer of the methods from one device to the other one were investigated. Here, an algorithm has been found, which makes such transfer possible. Therefore, this can be used for the reduction of the experimental effort during calibration drastically in a series production of the systems.

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Untersuchung der Methode der Laserinduzierten Plasmaspektroskopie (LIPS) zur Bestimmung des Aufmischungsgrades ([Eta]) in durch Laserstrahl-Präzisionsauftragschweißen (LAP) hergestellten Beschichtungen. Grund- und Zusatzwerkstoff müssen sich hierbei in ihrer Elementzusammensetzung voneinander unterscheiden. Als Substratmaterial diente unlegierter Baustahl, als Zusatzwerkstoff wurde Stellit 21 eingesetzt. [Eta] stellt eine wichtige Qualitätskenngröße dar und kann nach vorheriger Kalibrierung des LIPS-Messsystems sowohl offline als auch online detektiert werden. Der Aufmischungsgrad korreliert mit dem detektierten Emissionslinienverhältnis. Im untersuchten Fall besteht in guter Näherung ein linearer Zusammenhang zwischen beiden Größen. Die Vorteile von LIPS gegenüber anderen Verfahren liegen insbesondere in der berührungslosen Analyse und der entfallenden Probenpräparation. Prinzipiell lässt sich das Vorgehen auf andere Werkstoffsysteme übertragen. Das verwendete LISP-Messsystem kann in den Fertigungsprozess integriert werden und steht als Technologiemodul für eine qualifizierte Überwachung des Aufmischungsgrades beim LAP-Prozess zur Verfügung.

This PhD work was devoted to the understanding of the laser-induced plasma on organic materials and theapplication of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to quantitative analysis of these materials. Itcontributes to deepen our knowledge on the physical mechanisms involved in laser-matter interaction, plasmageneration, evolution and expansion of the plasma into the ambient gas, with emphasis on plasmas induced onorganic targets. It also intends to improve the performance of LIBS for the analysis of organic materials. Thespecificity for organic targets fits the current focus of the international community working on LIBS, toimprove the control of the plasma induced on this kind of material which has a distinguished optical prosperitywith respect to that of metals, better known for laser ablation. It addresses also the growing need to apply theLIBS technique to organic materials for different applications in the environmental, food, or biomedicaldomains. The works in this thesis were therefore presented in this thesis document according to the followingorganization.After the General Introduction which introduces the scientific and technological contexts, Chapter Irecalls the basic theoretical elements necessary to understand the phenomenon of plasma generation by laserablation, and its evolution in the background gas. Ablation of organic material is emphasized. Procedures andtechniques of diagnostics of laser-induced plasma were then presented with a focus on the transient andinhomogeneous nature of the expanding plasma. Chapter II focuses on the generation and the evolution of theplasma induced on the skin of a potato, a typical sample of agricultural product. The characteristics of plasmainduced on a soft and wet organic target, such as a fresh potato, was something unknown when the thesis workstarted. These characteristics provide the necessary basis for the quantitative analysis of the trace andultra-trace metallic elements in these samples. Following this characterization, semi-quantitative analyticalresults were extracted from LIBS spectra corresponding to potato skin. Chapter III is presented in thecontinuity of Chapter II for the application of LIBS to the quantitative analysis of organic materials. Acomparative study on the analytical results with LIBS and ICP-AES for milk powders allows an assessment ofthe performances of quantitative analysis by LIBS for organic materials, and a validation of the CF-LIBSprocedure that we have developed. Different from Chapters II and III where attention was paid to trace metalelements, Chapter IV studies the behavior of the major elements that make up the matrix of organic material,which are 4 known organic elements: H, C, O, N. During the decomposition of organic material by laserablation, these elements can be found in the form of molecular fragments, or recombined into molecularspecies. We then study in this Chapter the evolution of these species as a function of the laser ablationparameters, the laser wavelength in particular. The thesis document ends with a general conclusion andoutlooks.

Nos últimos 20 anos, a espectroscopia de emissão ótica com plasma induzido a laser (LIBS) tem se tornado uma das mais promissoras ferramentas em química analítica, cujas aplicações são destinadas às análises multi-elementares em amostras nos estados sólido, líquido e gasoso. Suas aplicações são as mais diversas, pois sua instrumentação é relativamente simples e pode ser portátil. Em especial, a LIBS apresenta grande potencial de uso na agricultura, com diversas publicações que exploram, principalmente, a concentração de carbono em solos. Entretanto, a construção de modelos gerais de calibração é uma das maiores dificuldades da técnica, pois ela está suscetível aos efeitos de matriz que adicionam comportamentos não-lineares às intensidades das emissões. Com intuito de compreender quais são as principais causas dessa dependência, este trabalho avaliou relações entre propriedades físicas do plasma LIBS e as inclinações das curvas de calibração para cinco emissões de carbono em amostras sintéticas de diferentes potenciais de ionização, sendo elas KCl e H3BO3 com 1% de CuSO4 e concentrações entre 0 e 10 % de carbono. Constatou-se que temperatura e densidade de elétrons dependem inversamente da concentração de carbono nas amostras, o que provavelmente está associado às taxas de ablação de material da amostra e recombinação no interior do plasma. Ademais, esses parâmetros em plasmas originados das amostras de KCl + CuSO4 são maiores do que para a matriz de H3BO3 + CuSO4, além de que apenas plasmas originados da primeira matriz satisfizeram o critério de McWhirter para C I, Cu I e Cu II em todas as concentrações de carbono, indicando que eles devem apresentar condições de equilíbrio termodiâmico local. O mesmo não foi obtido para o caso da matriz de H3BO3 + CuSO4, o que pode explicar suas elevadas incertezas nos valores da temperatura e densidade de elétrons. Verificou-se ainda que as inclinações das curvas de calibração para o carbono foram maiores para o caso da matriz com elementos majoritários de menor potencial de ionização e que isso está diretamente relacionado às propriedades intrínsecas dos plasmas originados, o que corrobora a hipótese deste trabalho. Além disso, cálculos de correlação entre a área do pico de carbono em 247,89 nm e cada ponto dos espectros LIBS mostraram que a emissão de Cu II em 224,72 nm linearizou as curvas de calibração, minimizando os efeitos de matriz. Por fim, este trabalho contribuiu tanto com avanços no conhecimento até então existente a respeito dos efeitos de matriz quanto com um eficiente conjunto de técnicas analíticas para espectros, cujo potencial de aplicação é enorme. / In the last 20 years, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been one of the main tools in analytical chemistry, whose applications are destinated to multi-elementar analysis in solid, liquid or gaseous samples. Its use is diverse, since its instrumentation is relatively simple and can be portable. In particular, LIBS has a great potential for use in agriculture, with many publications that explore mainly the carbon concentration in soils. However, the construction of general calibration models is one of the greatest difficulties of the technique, since it is susceptible to matrix effects that add non-linear behaviors to the emission intensities. In order to understand the main causes of this dependence, this study evaluated the relationships between physical properties of the LIBS plasma and the slope of the calibration curves for carbon emissions in synthetic samples with different ionization potentials. Those samples were made of KCl and H3BO3 with 1% of CuSO4 and carbon concentrations ranging from 0 to 10%. It was found that the plasma temperature and electron density are inversely proportional to the carbon concentration in the samples, which is probably associated with rates of sample ablation and recombination within the plasma. In addition, these parameters in plasmas originating from the samples of KCl + CuSO4 are larger than those originating from the matrix of H3BO3 + CuSO4 at all carbon concentrations, indicating that the first matrix must be in local thermodynamics equilibrium. However, similar results were not found for the other matrix which may explain its high uncertainties in the values of temperature and electron density. It was verified that the slope of the carbon calibration curves were higher for the matrix with elements of low ionization potential than for the other matrix and that this is directly related to the intrinsic properties the plasmas originated, which corroborates the hypothesis of this study. Furthermore, the analysis of correlation between the carbon peak area at 247.89 nm and each point of the LIBS spectra have shown that the Cu II emission at 224.72 nm linearized the calibration curves, minimizing the matrix effects. Finally, this study contributed with advances in the knowledge about matrix effects and with an efficient set of analytical tools for spectra whose application potential is huge.