Plasma Plume Expansion Research Articles

Iron Distribution in Size‐Resolved Aerosols Generated by UV‐Femtosecond Laser Ablation: Influence of Cell Geometry and Implications for In Situ Isotopic Determination by LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS

The influence of ablation cell geometry (Frames single‐ and HelEx two‐volume cells) and laser wavelength (198 and 266 nm) on aerosols produced by femtosecond laser ablation (fs‐LA) were evaluated. Morphologies, iron mass distribution (IMD) and 56Fe/54Fe ratios of particles generated from magnetite, pyrite, haematite and siderite were studied. The following two morphologies were identified: spherules (10–200 nm) and agglomerates (5–10 nm). Similarity in IMD and ablation rate at 198 and 266 nm indicates similar ablation mechanisms. 56Fe/54Fe ratios increased with aerodynamic particle size as a result of kinetic fractionation during laser plasma plume expansion, cooling and aerosol condensation. The HelEx cell produces smaller particles with a larger range of 56Fe/54Fe ratios (1.85‰) than particles from the Frames cell (1.16‰), but the bulk aerosol matches the bulk substrate for both cells, demonstrating stoichiometric fs‐LA sampling. IMD differences are the result of faster wash out of the HelEx cell allowing less time for agglomeration of small, low‐δ 56Fe particles with larger, high‐δ 56Fe particles in the cell. Even with a shorter ablation time, half the total Fe ion intensity, and half the ablation volume, the HelEx cell produced Fe isotope determinations for magnetite that were as precise as the Frames cell, even when the latter included an aerosol‐homogenising mixing chamber. The HelEx cell delivered a more constant stream of small particles to the ICP, producing a more stable Fe ion signal (0.7% vs. 1.5% RSE for 56Fe in a forty‐cycle single analysis), constant instrumental mass bias and thus a more precise measurement.

Characteristics of plasma plume and effect mechanism of lateral restraint during high power CO2 laser welding process

A novel lateral restraint method was proposed to suppress plasma plume of high power CO2 laser welding using a pair of copper blocks with cooling water. The plasma plume was observed with a high-speed camera, and its core zone and periphery zone were investigated based on the specific processing algorithm. With the specially designed shifting unit, the spectrum of plasma plume was scanned both in 1-D and 2-D mode. Based on the selected spectral lines, electron temperature and electron number density of plasma plume were calculated. The characteristics of plasma plume, as well as the restraint mechanism, were discussed both in 1-D and 2-D mode. Results showed that the cooling effect, blowing effect and the static pressure were enhanced by the lateral restraint, and the restraint effect of the near-wall low-temperature area limited the expansion of plasma plume greatly.

Effect of external constraint on the characteristics and behavior of the plasma plume during high-power CO2 laser welding

Laser-induced plasma has been one of the hotspots of high-power CO2 laser welding for many years. A novel method was proposed to suppress the plasma plume through external constraints, which resulted in more stable welding process and slightly increased penetration depth. Based on high-speed camera and image processing technology, it was demonstrated that the expansion of plasma plume both in height and width was suppressed by a pair of water-cooled copper blocks laid near laser incident point along the direction of seam. Besides its intensity and size, the dynamical behavior of plasma plume under spatial constraint was observed and analyzed by the characteristic parameters. The constraint mechanism and influence of the spacing between the two copper blocks was discussed. Results showed that external constraint was effective to suppress plasma plume, stabilize welding process, and to increase weld penetration for high-power CO2 laser welding.

Experimental investigation of plume expansion dynamics of nanosecond laser ablated Al with small incident angle

Experimental study of expansion dynamics of pulsed-laser ablation plasmas from Al is presented. A systematic investigation of plasma plume expansion is done. The laser beam is focused on the target with an incident angle between 0° and 20°. The results show that the plume growth is almost normal to the target surface, irrespective of the incident angle of the laser. Besides, the time evolution of the plasma plume geometry ratio at different incident angles shows that the incident angle of laser beam influences very slightly its shape at later delay time. The results imply that when the incident angle is small (ranging from 0° to 20°), the influence of the incident angle on the plume expansion is rather trivial.

Interferometric Analysis of 1064-nm Nanosecond Laser Induced Copper Plasma

This paper reports on the interferometric analysis of laser-induced plasma performed to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of a plasma column as a function of the time elapsed after laser-induced ablation on the surface of a copper target. The plasma was driven by focusing Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulse ( λ = 1064 nm, τ = ~ 5 ns, and E=12. 5 mJ) onto a copper target and the interference patterns were constructed using a Nomarski interferometer. Phase information of the interference patterns was extracted using a fast Fourier-transform method. With the phase information obtained thus the spatial distribution of electron density was inferred from the Abel inversion equation. For the infrared nanosecond pulsed ablation regime, we observed that the resulting plasma expands preferentially toward the incoming laser beam at the early stage of plasma formation. The maximum plasma density was measured to be of the order of ~ 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">20</sup> cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-3</sup> . As time elapses, the rapid radial expansion of plasma plume and significant reduction of electron density were observed.

Plume dynamics of a laser produced plasma from a dot target

To generate a plasma light source with a small spot size by reducing the expansion of the plasma plume, we studied the plume expansion dynamics of a plasma generated from a dot target that consisted of a photoresist with a hole coated on a pure Al plate. A time-resolved ultraviolet (UV) image of the plasma plume and a UV spectrometer were used to study the expansion of the plasma plume produced from a dot target and from an Al plate target. The measurements of the plume size from the emission of Al II ions showed that due to the strong collision between the core Al plasma and the plasma generate from the outer part of the dot, the expansion speed in the lateral direction was reduced to 70 % that of the plasma generated from the pure Al plate. However, for the case of the emission from neutral Al atoms, the plume sizes of the two targets were almost the same because of the weak collision between the Al atoms and the surrounding plasmas. Thus, these collisional effects in the plasma produced from a dot target can reduce the size of the core plasma ion and can be used to generate a small-spot-size laser plasma light source.

Characteristics of plasma plume expansion from Al target induced by oblique incidence of 1064 and 355 nm nanosecond Nd : YAG laser

Evolution of a plasma plume from an Al target ablated with a nanosecond 1064 and 355 nm laser respectively under oblique incidence in air is studied using the time-resolved shadowgraph imaging technique. The characteristics of plasma plume expansion with different focusing conditions (focal point on, ahead of and after the target surface) are experimentally investigated. Experimental results show that the evolution of the plasma plume is strongly influenced by air breakdown which occurs prior to the laser beam reaching the target. Without the occurrence of air breakdown, the temporal evolution of the Al plasma plume with both UV and IR ablation laser wavelengths shows the plume expansion with an ellipsoid-shaped plume front travelling mainly against the incoming laser beam due to the formation of a laser-supported detonation wave at the initial stage of laser ablation, and then the shape of the plume front turns into a sphere. Experimental results also show that a higher portion of the laser pulse energy reaches the target surface at UV laser wavelength than that of an IR laser due to the higher penetrating ability of the UV laser wavelength to the plasma.

The Influence of spot size on the expansion dynamics of nanosecond-laser-produced copper plasmas in atmosphere

Laser produced copper plasmas of different spot sizes in air were investigated using fast photography and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The laser energy was 33 mJ. There were dramatic changes in the plasma plume expansion into the ambient air when spot sizes changed from ∼0.1 mm to ∼0.6 mm. A stream-like structure and a hemispherical structure were, respectively, observed. It appeared that the same spot size resulted in similar expansion dynamics no matter whether the target was located in the front of or behind the focal point, although laser-induced air breakdown sometimes occurred in the latter case. Plasma plume front positions agree well with the classic blast wave model for the large spot-size cases, while an unexpected stagnation of ∼80 ns occurred after the laser pulse ends for the small spot size cases. This stagnation can be understood in terms of the evolution of enhanced plasma shielding effects near the plasma front. Axial distributions of plasma components by OES revealed a good confinement effect. Electron number densities were estimated and interpreted using the recorded Intensified Charge Coupled Device (ICCD) images.

Fabrication of Nano-engineered Transparent Conducting Oxides by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas allows the deposition of metal oxides with tunable morphology, structure, density and stoichiometry by a proper control of the plasma plume expansion dynamics. Such versatility can be exploited to produce nanostructured films from compact and dense to nanoporous characterized by a hierarchical assembly of nano-sized clusters. In particular we describe the detailed methodology to fabricate two types of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films as transparent electrodes in photovoltaic devices: 1) at low O₂ pressure, compact films with electrical conductivity and optical transparency close to the state of the art transparent conducting oxides (TCO) can be deposited at room temperature, to be compatible with thermally sensitive materials such as polymers used in organic photovoltaics (OPVs); 2) highly light scattering hierarchical structures resembling a forest of nano-trees are produced at higher pressures. Such structures show high Haze factor (>80%) and may be exploited to enhance the light trapping capability. The method here described for AZO films can be applied to other metal oxides relevant for technological applications such as TiO₂, Al₂O₃, WO₃ and Ag₄O₄.

基于阴影法的脉冲CO2激光Sn等离子体羽辉膨胀特性研究

基于阴影法的脉冲CO₂激光Sn等离子体羽辉膨胀特性研究

Numerical modeling of plasma plume evolution against ambient background gas in laser blow off experiments

Two dimensional numerical modelling based on simplified hydrodynamic evolution for an expanding plasma plume (created by laser blow off) against an ambient background gas has been carried out. A comparison with experimental observations shows that these simulations capture most features of the plasma plume expansion. The plume location and other gross features are reproduced as per the experimental observation in quantitative detail. The plume shape evolution and its dependence on the ambient background gas are in good qualitative agreement with the experiment. This suggests that a simplified hydrodynamic expansion model is adequate for the description of plasma plume expansion.

Ion velocities in a micro-cathode arc thruster

Ion velocities in the plasma jet generated by the micro-cathode arc thruster are studied by means of time-of-flight method using enhanced ion detection system (EIDS). The EIDS triggers perturbations (spikes) on arc current waveform, and the larger current in the spike generates denser plasma bunches propagating along with the mainstream plasma. The EIDS utilizes double electrostatic probes rather than single probes. The average Ti ion velocity is measured to be around 2×104 m/s without a magnetic field. It was found that the application of a magnetic field does not change ion velocities in the interelectrode region while leads to ion acceleration in the free expanding plasma plume by a factor of about 2. Ion velocities of about 3.5×104 m/s were detected for the magnetic field of about 300 mT at distance of about 100–200 mm from the cathode. It is proposed that plasma is accelerated due to Lorentz force. The average thrust is calculated using the ion velocity measurements and the cathode mass consumption rate, and its increase with the magnetic field is demonstrated.

Characteristic of a triple-cathode vacuum arc plasma source

In order to generate a better ion beam, a triple-cathode vacuum arc plasma source has been developed. Three plasma generators in the vacuum arc plasma source are equally located on a circle. Each generator initiated by means of a high-voltage breakdown between the cathode and the anode could be operated separately or simultaneously. The arc plasma expands from the cathode spot region in vacuum. In order to study the behaviors of expanding plasma plume generated in the vacuum arc plasma source, a Langmuir probe array is employed to measure the saturated ion current of the vacuum arc plasma source. The time-dependence profiles of the saturated current density of the triple vacuum arc plasma source operated separately and simultaneously are given. Furthermore, the plasma characteristic of this vacuum arc plasma source is also presented in the paper.

Surface rippling on bulk metallic glass under nanosecond pulse laser ablation

We report an interesting surface ripple patterns in the irradiated area of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass by nanosecond pulse laser with single shot. Such surface rippling phenomenon can be ascribed to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the interface between the molten layer and the expanding plasma plume. The analytical instability criterion is obtained via a perturbation analysis. Furthermore, the model demonstrates that the characteristic spacing of the ripples is dominated by the density, transverse velocity of the plasma wind, and the surface tension of the molten layer. The predicted spacing agrees well with the experimentally observed values. The results are fundamentally useful for laser-processing bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and even for understanding the nature of flow in BMGs.

Fast Imaging of Ablation Plasma Produced by a Pulsed Electron Beam

The expansion of the ablation plasma plume produced at the interaction of a pulsed electron beam with a target is studied by fast imaging. The plasma plume has a forward-peaked pattern, with a slight spatial deviation from the normal to the target due to the presence of the capillary tube of the channel-spark electron source near the target. The emitting plasma species have energies between 10 and 60 eV.

Diagnostics of laser plasma plume dynamics within an electrically biased confining cavity

The dynamics of laser generated plasma plumes expanding within confining surfaces display a two-phase nature. Early phase enhancement due to hydrodynamic containment results in higher temperatures, densities, and average charges states in comparison to freely expanding plasma plumes. Later phase dynamics result in rapid decay of the plasma plume due to lossy plasma—surface interactions. This paper examines laser plasma generation and expansion within rectangular aluminium cavities biased to high voltages (Vbias = ±9 kV). “Hydro-electro-dynamic” confinement of the laser plasma plumes and the expansion dynamics were studied via space and time resolved visible emission spectroscopy. The charged confining cavities displayed enhanced emission, higher electron densities (Ne) and longer emission durations compared to those of an unbiased cavity. This behavior is attributed to the influence of the electric fields in the cavity on the charged particle dynamics within the cavity volume. The degree of enhancement depended strongly on the applied polarity.

Image analysis of expanding laser-produced lithium plasma plume in variable transverse magnetic field

AbstractUsing fast imaging technique, the effect of transverse magnetic field on the shape and dynamics of the lithium plasma plume has been studied. Enhancement in the overall emission intensity as well as appearance of distinct structures (lobes) in the plasma plume in the presence of magnetic field has been observed. By introducing a variable magnetic field, the influence of J × B force in expanding plasma plume across the transverse magnetic field has been explored. It appears that J × B force does not has a substantial role in the observed structures in the present case rather different atomic processes, which get affected due to change in plasma parameters, are responsible for appearance of these structures.

Revealing of hydrodynamic and electrostatic factors in the center-of-mass velocity of an expanding plasma generated by pulsed laser ablation

AbstractTime-of-flight spectra of C, Fe, and Si ions produced with the use of a KrF excimer laser have been analyzed. Ion currents were collected by Faraday cups and their responses were analyzed using a detector signal function. This function was derived from shifted Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution, in order to uncover the contribution of partial currents of all the ionized species constituting the expanding plasma plume. The deconvolution method allowed to estimate parameters of the plasma, such as the ion temperature and the center-of-mass velocities of expanding ionized species. Furthermore, the linear charge-state dependence of the center-of-mass velocity has revealed the contribution of hydrodynamic and electrostatic forces to the expansion velocity of the plasma. The nearly isotropic distribution of the center-of-mass velocity indicates that the shape of the plasma plume is determined mainly by the angular distribution of the ionization degree of ions.

Spectroscopic, imaging, and probe diagnostics of laser plasma plumes expanding between confining surfaces

Laser plasma plumes were generated in aluminum rectangular cavities of fixed depth (6 mm) and varying height (2.0, 1.5, and 1.0 mm). Space and time resolved visible emission spectroscopy, gated intensified visible imaging, and Langmuir probe diagnostics were utilized to diagnose the evolution of the confined plasma plumes in comparison to freely expanding plasma plume generated from ablation of a planar target. The constrained plasma behavior displayed a multiphase history. Early stage interactions (t&amp;lt;100 ns) resulted in enhanced continuum and line emission, shockwave formation and plasma plume rebound. Later phase, long duration plasma-surface interactions (t&amp;gt;160 ns) resulted in sustained “decay,” i.e., a rapid termination of continuum emission, in concert with decreases in peak electron density (Ne) and plasma temperature (T). This later phase originates from loss mechanisms which bleed the plasma plume of thermal energy and charged particles. These loss mechanisms increase in magnitude as the duration of the plasma-surface interaction increases. The transition from enhancement phase, originating from hydrodynamic containment, and plasma-surface collisions, to decay phase is described and occurs for each cavity at a different point in the space time history.

Comparison between time-of-flight measurements and numerical simulations for laser-generated plasmas

The modeling of laser-generated plasmas can be carried out by means of different theoretical approaches. Hydrodynamic simulations have the advantage of treating the plasma as a continuous fluid that expands in vacuum with a high Mach number. We used the analytical Anisimov model for the numerical simulations of a plasma expanding at supersonic velocities. The model describes the plume by means of a special solution of the gas dynamical equations on the hypothesis that the flow expands adiabatically. Here, we carry out a comparative analysis between experimental and numerical results: the model fits the experimental data for monoatomic plumes quite well. More specifically, the numerical data have been tested by comparing the time-of-flight signals obtained at the INFN-LNS in Catania from a pure metallic target. A Coulomb drift velocity was added to the expansion velocity, and only in this way was it possible to explain the experimental results, thus confirming the presence of self-generated electrostatic fields inside the expanding plasma plume.