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The Effect of Background Gas on the Excitation Temperature and Electron Number Density of Basalt Plasma Induced by 10.6 Micron Laser Radiation

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Abstract

Time-integrated optical emission spectroscopy was applied for the analysis of emission spectra, and determination of electron densities and excitation temperatures of basalt plasma induced by 10.6 micron laser radiation. The plasma was studied in air, argon and carbon dioxide, under pressure of 10, 50, and 100 mbar. The plasma emission intensity was found to be strongly dependent on the nature of the ambient gas and its pressure. The highest emission intensities and signal to noise ratios were obtained in argon. Depending on the composition and pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, the values of plasma temperature varied between 14,400 K (air at 10 mbar) and 17,100 K (carbon dioxide at 100 mbar). Similarly, the electron number density varied between 3 × 1016 cm−3 (10 mbar air) and 1.6 × 1017 cm−3 (100 mbar CO2). The observed behavior was correlated with the properties of the studied gases, in particular, their mass, thermal conductivity and ionization energy, and the role of the ambient gas in controlling the efficiency of laser-target coupling, laser-plasma interaction and plasma shielding.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic Serbia through the project, “Effects of Laser Radiation on Novel Materials in Their Synthesis, Modifications, and Analysis” (Project No. 172019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia

    Milos Momcilovic, Sanja Zivkovic, Jovan Ciganovic, Milan Trtica & Jelena Savovic

  2. Faculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade 118, PAC 105305, Serbia

    Miroslav Kuzmanovic & Dragan Rankovic

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  1. Milos Momcilovic
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Momcilovic, M., Zivkovic, S., Kuzmanovic, M. et al. The Effect of Background Gas on the Excitation Temperature and Electron Number Density of Basalt Plasma Induced by 10.6 Micron Laser Radiation. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 39, 985–1000 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-019-09987-4

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