Near infrared characteristics of air plasma induced by nanosecond laser

Abstract

The near infrared emission from laser induced air plasma has been investigated in a range of 1100–2400 nm. The infrared spectra of air plasma consist of linear spectral and continuum radiation. Most of the spectral features observed are identified, including atomic lines of O I and N I and molecular bands of N₂. The spectra show trace of blackbody background emission and the plasma temperature is estimated from Planck law. We find that the continuum radiation is mainly origins mainly from the blackbody emission of plasma. There is a limitation of plasma temperature estimation by using Boltzmann method. For example, the local thermodynamic equilibrium must be satisfied, and the trend of change in plasma temperature can be estimated within a few microseconds after the laser shot. In this paper, the plasma temperature in 15 μs after laser irradiation is estimated from the Planck law, and the temperature of air plasma is estimated to be about 3900 K, which can compensate for the shortcomings of Boltzmann method. It is found that the neutral atomic spectra of N and O both may contribute to the radiation of the air plasma at 1128 nm. Then we keep the air pressure in the vacuum chamber at 80 kPa, and change the nitrogen and oxygen content in the chamber. The infrared spectrum data show that the oxygen content in the mixed gas only affect the radiation of 1128 nm wavelength. The binary linear regression analysis shows that oxygen contributes much to the radiation of 1128 nm wavelength. This can be explained by the difference in ionization potential between molecule O₂ and N₂. The infrared radiation intensities of the air plasma at 1128 nm under 20−80 kPa are obtained, and they are compared with the calculated results obtained with the fitting formula. The predicted value is very close to the experimental value and the relative error is negligibly at the pressure of 30−80 kPa. The study of the characteristics of infrared emission from laser induced plasma is of great significance for understanding and using the physical mechanisms of laser-matter interaction.