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 language | English (US) |
---|---|
Article number | 054008 |
Journal | Plasma Sources Science and Technology |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 28 2016 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Condensed Matter Physics
Keywords
- electron avalanche
- laser spark
- nanosecond discharge
- nonequilibrium plasma