Material processing by laser-plasma-filament-guided high voltage discharges

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel laser-guided electrical discharge method for remote material ablation, demonstrating significant increases in ablation volume and precise control of high-voltage discharges using plasma filaments.

Contribution

It introduces a new technique combining laser-guided plasma filaments with high-voltage discharges for remote material processing, enhancing ablation efficiency and control.

Findings

Ablation volume increased by 1.67 times with discharges.

Ablation volume increased by up to 12.5 times with plasma filaments.

Method enables remote, steerable high-voltage discharge processing.

Abstract

We investigate ablation experiments performed by laser-plasma-filament guided electrical discharges at high-voltages of up to 145 kV. The guiding was accomplished via fs-laser-generated plasma filaments across a gap of 201 mm of air onto steel 1.3343 samples. This method combines remote material processing and enables the steering and deflection of high voltage discharges with the ease-of-use of remote laser processing technology. We observe an increase of the per-pulse-(and-discharge)-ablated volume by a factor of 1.67 over an ablation regime when the discharges are not present and up to a factor of 12.5 over the case when neither discharges nor plasma filaments, only a loosely focused laser beam, are present.