Abstract
An interferometric analysis was performed to investigate the influence of argon (Ar) buffer gas on the characteristics of laser-induced aluminum (Al) plasma at atmospheric pressure. The plasma was produced by focusing a -switched Nd:YAG laser pulse (, pulse duration , ) onto an Al target. The interference patterns were constructed using a Nomarski interferometer incorporated with a frequency-doubled, -switched Nd:YAG laser (, pulse duration ) that generates an interferometric probe beam. The interferometric measurements were carried out as a function of the elapsed time after the onset of breakdown under the conditions of open air and an Ar gas jet flow (). With the injection of an Ar buffer gas jet in the ablation process, an increase in electron density and a preferential axial plasma expansion of the plasma plume were observed during the early stages of plasma formation as a consequence of increased inverse-Bremsstrahlung (IB) absorption efficiency.
© 2014 Optical Society of America
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