Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for Stark broadening and shift experiments: Measurement of Fe II and Ni II Stark shifts

We present experimental studies on characterization of laser-induced plasmas relevant for the measurement of Stark widths and shifts by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The selection of samples for plasma generation is investigated. It is shown that fused glass samples provide spectra with much higher line-to-background ratio for many lines of interest, compared to alloys. The influence of self-absorption on the line width is studied as a function of the concentrations of the emitting element in the sample and time of the plasma evolution. New Stark shifts for several Fe II and Ni II are measured