Plasma plumes produced by laser ablation of Al with single and double pulse schemes

TL;DR

This study compares plasma plumes generated by single and double picosecond laser pulses on aluminum, revealing that double pulses produce more homogeneous plasma with distinct expansion and emission characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis of plasma dynamics under single and double pulse laser ablation, highlighting the advantages of double pulses for plasma homogeneity.

Findings

Double-pulse scheme yields more homogeneous plasma.

Lateral expansion is greater when the first pulse energy is lower or equal to the second.

Emission counts for slow species are higher in single pulse ablation.

Abstract

We generated and characterized plasma with single and double picosecond laser pulses in order to study the plume dynamics and to control the plasma properties. The double-pulse scheme was found to be superior for the generation of a homogeneous plasma. The lateral expansion was prominent for irradiation schemes wherein energy of the first pulse is lower/equal to that of the second pulse. While the velocities of the fast and slow species were found to be nearly equal, the emission counts corresponding to slow species are larger for single pulse compared to the double pulse.