This study aims to
investigate the potential benefits of adapting
the ablating grid in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D)
laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in a single
pulse mapping mode. The goals include enhancing the accuracy of surface
sampling of element distributions, improving the control of depth-related
sampling, smoothing the post-ablation surface for layer-by-layer sampling,
and increasing the image quality. To emulate the capabilities of currently
unavailable laser ablation stages, a computational approach using
geometrical modeling was employed to compound square or round experimentally
obtained 3D crater profiles on variable orthogonal or hexagonal ablation
grids. These grids were optimized by minimizing surface roughness
as a function of average ablation depth, followed by simulating the
post-ablation surface and related image quality. An online application
(https://laicpms-apps.ki.si/webapps/home/) is available for users to virtually experiment with contracting/expanding
orthogonal and hexagonal ablation grids for generic 3D super-Gaussian
laser crater profiles, allowing for exploration of the resulting post-ablation
surface layer roughness and depth.