Supression of laser breakdown by pulsed nonequilibrium ns discharge

A. Y. Starikovskiy, I. E. Semenov, M. N. Shneider

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The avalanche ionization induced by infrared laser pulses was investigated in a pre-ionized argon gas. Pre-ionization was created by a high-voltage pulsed nanosecond discharge developed in the form of a fast ionization wave. Then, behind the front of ionization wave additional avalanche ionization was initiated by the focused Nd-YAG laser pulse. It was shown that the gas pre-ionization inhibits the laser spark generation. It was demonstrated that the suppression of laser spark development in the case of strong gas pre-ionization is because of fast electron energy transfer from the laser beam focal region. The main mechanism of this energy transfer is free electrons diffusion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number054008
JournalPlasma Sources Science and Technology
Volume25
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 28 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Condensed Matter Physics

Keywords

  • electron avalanche
  • laser spark
  • nanosecond discharge
  • nonequilibrium plasma

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