Abstract
The starting mechanisms and dynamics of laser-induced bubble formation at a submerged fiber tip in distilled water were experimentally investigated using pressure measurements and fast flash videography. A fiber guided Ho:YAG laser operating in the free running (τ=200 μs) and Q-switched (τ=45 ns) mode at a wavelength of λ=2.12 μm was used as a light source. It is shown that the beam profile at the distal fiber tip (multimode fiber d=300 μm) exhibits hot spots that result in an inhomogeneous temperature distribution in the heated water volume. Depending on the laser irradiance, three different bubble formation processes are distinguished: bubble formation by heating, by rarefraction (cavitation), and by a combination of these two processes. For laser irradiances of less than 0.5 MW/ cm2 bubble formation takes place at temperatures near the critical point of water (T=280 °C). A rapid decrease in the threshold temperature for bubble formation was found for laser irradiances between 0.5 and 1 MW/cm 2. At laser irradiances higher than 3 MW/cm2, microbubbles with radii of up to 20 μm were formed at the front of the laser pulse even though the average water temperature was far below 100 °C. The water temperature distribution during the laser pulse was determined by numerical simulation. Simultaneous pressure measurements revealed that each subablative laser spike induces a bipolar pressure transient. The onset of the bubble expansion was found to be correlated with a characteristic pressure increase that can be used for on-line monitoring of the ablation process. The distortion of the temporal profile of the pressure wave is shown to be an effect of diffraction. The reduction of pressure by the negative part of the bipolar pressure transients leads to a lowering of the evaporation pressure and therefore to the initiation of bubbles by cavitation. With increasing irradiance this mechanism becomes more efficient.
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