Preliminary spectral investigation on Betel Nut (“Pinang”) using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Preliminary optical spectroscopy studies have been carried out on betel nut samples using a new analytical tool, LIBS. The LIBS system consists of an neodymium -doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd YAG) laser as an excitation source, laser beam conditioning equipment, and an optical multichannel analyzer system (OMA system). Betel nut samples were collected from Aceh, Indonesia. The experiment was carried out under ambient air with a pressure of 760 Torr. It was found that strong luminous plasma could be generated directly from fresh betel nut samples, which resulted in strong emission spectrum. The emission spectrum obtained should have been dominated by host organic matter (C-H-O-N), but not as imagined because the organic host elements did not appear predominantly in the spectrum. Different treatments need to be carried out in further research so that the host organic matter appears. However, some salts, namely Mg, Fe, Na, Ca, Si, Al and K can be detected clearly. These initial investigations hold the promise of LIBS for spectral studies of betel nuts.