Characteristics of radio-frequency emission from nanosecond laser-induced breakdown plasma of air

Abstract

The radio-frequency (RF) emissions in a range from 30 MHz to 800 MHz from the plasma, which is produced by the nanosecond laser (532 nm, 8 ns) induced breakdown of atmospheric air, are presented. A spectrum analyzer which can scan over a spectral range of 9 kHz-26.5 GHz is used to record the RF-range radiation intensities of the emission from the plasma. RF electromagnetic radiations from the laser induced breakdown of atmospheric air are obtained for different input laser energies. A half-wave plate and a Glan prism are used to vary the input laser energy. Experimental results show that the intensities of RF radiation in a range of 30-200 MHz increase with the increase of laser energy, but the intensities of RF radiation in a 360-600 MHz frequency range decrease. To study the effect of input laser polarization on the RF radiation, we adopt the input lasers with vertical and horizontal polarization respectively. When the polarizations of the input laser and the antenna are the same, the RF radiation intensity is relatively high, and the frequency lines are relatively abundant. The changing relationship between the total power of RF radiation and the energy of the input laser is calculated and analyzed. It is observed that the total power of RF radiation first increases and then decreases with the increase of input laser energy. The influences of the plasma electron density on the plasma frequency and the plasma attenuation coefficient are investigated to explain the relationship between the total power of the RF radiation and the laser energy. The RF radiation is caused by the following processes. The generated electrons and ions are accelerated away from the core by their thermal pressures. This leads to charge separation and forming the electric dipole moments. These oscillating electric dipoles radiate electromagnetic waves in the RF range. Furthermore, the interactions of electrons with atomic and molecular clusters within the plasma play a major role in RF radiation, and the low frequency electromagnetic radiation takes place from the plasma that is far from fully ionized state. Further study of the characteristics of RF electromagnetic radiation is of great significance for understanding the physical mechanism of the interaction between laser and matter.