Nanosecond laser pulse interactions with breakdown plasma in gas medium confined in a microhole.

The previous investigations on nanosecond laser pulse interactions with breakdown plasma in a gas medium confined in a microhole have been limited. This kind of plasma has been studied in this paper. Due to the significant measurement difficulty resulted from the very small spatial and temporal scales involved, a physics-based computational model has been employed as the investigation tool. The model is developed by solving gas dynamic equations numerically using the finite difference method based on an essentially non-oscillatory scheme. The gas dynamic equations are coupled with suitable equation of state, where the electron number density for plasma region is calculated through the Saha equation. Using the model, the spatial confinement effects of the microhole sidewall on the plasma evolution under laser radiation have been investigated. It has been found that under the studied conditions the hole sidewall confinement can greatly enhance the plasma temperature, pressure, and thrust (over the same surface area). The enhancement should be due to the sidewall’s restriction on the plasma lateral expansion and the sidewall’s reflection of the pressure wave induced by plasma. This study implies potential advantages of the breakdown plasma confined in a microhole in many relevant applications, such as laser propulsion and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The developed model also provides a useful guiding tool for future fundamental research and practical applications in many areas related to laser interactions with gas breakdown plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]