Vaporized plume above commercially available LiAlH4 sample was studied using cavity ringdown spectroscopy. In the spectral ranges around 426 and 407 nm, lithium atomic and aluminium ionic transitions, as well as (0, 0) and (1, 0) bands of the AlH(A(1)Sigma <- X-1 Sigma(+)) electronic transition were observed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.