Internal structure and expansion dynamics of laser ablation plumes into ambient gases
- 1 March 2003
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 93 (5), 2380-2388
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1544070
Abstract
The effect of ambient gas on the expansion dynamics of the plasma generated by laser ablation of an aluminum target has been investigated using frequency doubled radiation from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The diagnostic tools include fast photography of overall visible plume emission using a 2 ns gated intensified charged coupled device and space and time resolved emission spectroscopy using a 50 cm monochromator/spectrograph and photomultiplier tube. The expansion behavior of the plasma was studied with ambient air pressure ranging from to 100 Torr. Free expansion, plume splitting and sharpening, hydrodynamic instability, and stagnation of the plume were observed at different pressure levels. Space and time resolved emission spectroscopic studies showed a twin peak distribution for Al and species at farther distances illustrating plume splitting at pressures higher than 100 mTorr. Combining imaging together with time resolved emission diagnostics, a triple structure of the plume was observed. The expansion of the plume front was compared with various expansion models and found to be generally in good agreement.
Keywords
This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- Plasma characterization during laser ablation of graphite in nitrogen for the growth of fullerene-like CNx filmsJournal of Applied Physics, 2002
- Expansion dynamics of laser ablated carbon plasma plume in helium ambientApplied Surface Science, 2001
- Characterization of ZrO2/Y2O3 laser ablation plasma in vacuum, oxygen, and argon environmentsJournal of Applied Physics, 2000
- Characterization of laser-ablation plasmasJournal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 1999
- Influence of ambient gas on the temperature and density of laser produced carbon plasmaApplied Physics Letters, 1998
- Expansion dynamics of the plasma produced by laser ablation of BaTiO3 in a gas environmentJournal of Applied Physics, 1997
- Spectroscopic Imaging of Laser-Induced PlasmaAnalytical Chemistry, 1996
- Laser-plasma interaction during visible-laser ablation of methodsApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Dynamics of laser-induced plume expansion into an ambient gas during film depositionJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 1995
- Dynamics of excimer laser ablation of superconductors in an oxygen environmentApplied Physics Letters, 1990