# Current Progress in Femtosecond Laser Ablation/Ionisation Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
## 5 Applications
### Meteoritic Samples  
Cosmochemical analysis concerns the composition and evolution of matter. Planetary, cometary and asteroid material yield compositional details from which one can derive various stages of material transformation, underling chemical and physical processes since the time of the production of elements in star interiors [116]. In this respect, direct chemical analysis of extra-terrestrial samples, such as meteorites or samples returned from space mission, contributes much to this field. In such studies, the abundance of the major elements is typically important for mineralogical analysis, whereas minor and trace elements (isotopes) yield either an insight into the process leading to the formation of the material or are important for radiogenic dating. Again, high detection sensitivity at part per million levels or below is necessary for such studies. Since many meteoritic samples are highly heterogeneous on small scales, spatially (lateral and vertical) resolved chemical analysis is most useful. fs-LIMS has the necessary capabilities to perform such studies concerning high detection sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Chemical analysis can be conducted on individual grains of mineral layers. Initial ns-LMS studies of Allende meteorite samples delivered spot-wise chemical composition, including the chemical mapping of the surface with closely spaced ablation spots [182]. ns-LMS mapping also allowed an insight into the mineralogical composition of Allende meteorite. Recent studies with IR fs-LMS expand former LMS studies and demonstrate a good correlation between the optical grain borders and the borderlines of element distributions, including the mineralogical context from a combination of elemental compositions in ternary correlation plots. Improved quality of the surface chemical mapping accompanied advances in determining the mineralogical bulk composition [183]. The abundances of C, O, S, Na, K, Li, Mn, P, Cr, Si, Fe, Mg, Ni, Co, V, Ca, Ti, Al and Sc were quantified in the bulk chemical composition of the matrix and its spatial chemical variability was determined. It was suggested that the obtained compositional data can be used to set constraints on models for the formation of the matrix material of carbonaceous chondrites in the solar nebula. A fast collapse of the dust-gas cloud following chondrules formation was inferred, similar to the mechanism for the formation of the parent body [183]. In other recently conducted IRfs-LIMS studies, a sample of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 169 (SaU169) was analysed using a chemical mapping method. The measured geologically important elements were calibrated by relative sensitivity coefficients and their abundance obtained in the studies were correlated with ternary graphs to determine mineralogy [165]. Additionally, a few heavier trace elements (Pb, Th, U) were identified in the mass on individual zircon grains which allowed for an age estimation [165]. Further, the estimation of the crystallisation temperature of the zircon grain was obtained from the Ti concentration distribution analysis. IR fs-LI-O-TOFMS instrument was used for the spatially resolved multi-elemental imaging of a Nantan iron meteorite sample with 50 \(\upmu\)m lateral and 7 \(\upmu\)m depth resolution [134]. 3D scanning of the sample surface was accomplished by measuring 10 single laser shots spectra from one spatial spot of an individual sample layer. For calibration purposes, the measurements were initially performed using a self-prepared sample of high purity Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cu powders. Fe, Li, C, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu elements were identified in the mass spectrum and their abundances were determined without significant interference. The instrument was able to reach a detection limit of about 10\({}^{-7}\) g/g and a dynamic range of 10\({}^{6}\).