Ch. Leela

Dynamics of laser induced micro-shock waves and hot core plasma in quiescent air

We present our results on spatio-temporal evolution of laser plasma produced shockwaves (SWs) and hot core plasma (HCP) created by focused second harmonic (532 nm, 7 ns) of Nd-YAG laser in quiescent atmospheric air at f/#10 focusing geometry. Time resolved shadowgraphs imaged with the help of an ICCD camera with 1.5 ns temporal resolution revealed the presence of two co-existing sources simultaneously generating SWs. Each of the two sources independently led to a spherical SW following Sedov-Taylor theory along the laser propagation direction with a maximum velocity of 7.4 km/s and pressure of 57 MPa. While the interaction of SWs from the two sources led to a planar SW in the direction normal to the laser propagation direction. The SW detaches from the HCP and starts expanding into the ambient air at around 3 μs indicating the onset of asymmetric expansion of the HCP along the z-axis. The asymmetric expansion is observed till 10 μs beyond which the SW leaves the field of view followed by a deformation of the irradiated region in the XY-plane due to the penetration of surrounding colder air in to the HCP. The deformation in the XY-plane lasts till 600 μs. The dynamics of rapidly expanding HCP is observed to be analogous to that of cavitation bubble dynamics in fluids.

Dynamics of tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses in water

The dynamics of tightly focused ultrashort (40 fs) pulses manifested in terms of supercontinuum emission (SCE) and cavitation-induced bubbles (CIB) resulting from propagation in water over a wide range of input powers (6 mW‐1.8 W) are presented. The effect of linear polarization (LP) and circular polarization (CP) on SCE in different external focal geometries (f=6, f=7:5 and f=10) is investigated and the results are discussed. SCE with higher efficiency and a considerable spectral blue shift is observed under tight focusing conditions (f=6) compared to loose focusing conditions (f=10). At higher input powers, CIB along the axis of propagation are observed to be assisting deeper propagation of these short pulses and enhanced SCE. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

Spatio-temporal dynamics behind the shock front from compacted metal nanopowders

Laser ablated shock waves from compacted metal nanoenergetic powders of Aluminum (Al), Nickel coated Aluminum (Ni-Al) was characterized using shadowgraphy technique and compared with that from Boron Potassium Nitrate (BKN), Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) and Potassium Bromide (KBr) powders. Ablation is created by focused second harmonic (532 nm, 7 ns) of Nd:YAG laser. Time resolved shadowgraphs of propagating shock front and contact front revealed dynamics and the precise time of energy release of materials under extreme ablative pressures. Among the different compacted materials studied, Al nanopowders have maximum shock velocity and pressure behind the shock front compared to others.

Spectral selective radio frequency emissions from laser induced breakdown of target materials

The radio frequency emissions scanned over broad spectral range (30 MHz–1 GHz) from single shot nanosecond (7 ns) and picosecond (30 ps) laser induced breakdown (LIB) of different target materials (atmospheric air, aluminum, and copper) are presented. The dominant emissions from ns-LIB, compared to those from the ps-LIB, indicate the presence and importance of atomic and molecular clusters in the plasma. The dynamics of laser pulse-matter interaction and the properties of the target materials were found to play an important role in determining the plasma parameters which subsequently determine the emissions. Thus, with a particular laser and target material, the emissions were observed to be spectral selective. The radiation detection capability was observed to be relatively higher, when the polarization of the input laser and the antenna is same.

The effects of electron thermal radiation on laser ablative shock waves from aluminum plasma into ambient air

The effect of electron thermal radiation on 7 ns laser ablative shock waves from aluminum (Al) plasma into an ambient atmospheric air has been numerically investigated using a one-dimensional, three-temperature (electron, ion, and radiation) radiation hydrodynamic code MULTI. The governing equations in Lagrangian form are solved using an implicit scheme for planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries. The shockwave velocities (Vsw) obtained numerically are compared with our experimental values obtained over the intensity range of 2.0 × 1010 to 1.4 × 1011 W/cm2. It is observed that the numerically obtained Vsw is significantly influenced by the thermal radiation effects which are found to be dominant in the initial stage up to 2 μs depending on the input laser energy. Also, the results are found to be sensitive to the co-ordinate geometry used in the simulation (planar, cylindrical, and spherical). Moreover, it is revealed that shock wave undergoes geometrical transitions from planar to cylindrical natur...

Numerical investigation of nanosecond laser induced plasma and shock wave dynamics from air using 2D hydrodynamic code

A two-dimensional axis symmetric hydrodynamic model was developed to investigate nanosecond laser induced plasma and shock wave dynamics in ambient air over the input laser energies of 50–150 mJ and time scales from 25 ns to 8 μs. The formation of localized hot spots during laser energy deposition, asymmetric spatio-temporal evolution, rolling, and splitting of the plasma observed in the simulations were in good agreement with the experimental results. The formed plasma was observed to have two regions: the hot plasma core and the plasma outer region. The asymmetric expansion was due to the variation in the thermodynamic variables along the laser propagation and radial directions. The rolling of the plasma was observed to take place in the core region where very high temperatures exist. Similarly, the splitting of the plasma was observed to take place in the core region between the localized hot spots that causes the hydrodynamic instabilities. The rolling and splitting times were observed to vary with th...

Effect of laser intensity on radio frequency emissions from laser induced breakdown of atmospheric air

The studies on the effect of input laser intensity, through the variation of laser focusing geometry, on radio frequency (RF) emissions, over 30–1000 MHz from nanosecond (ns) and picosecond (ps) laser induced breakdown (LIB) of atmospheric air are presented. The RF emissions from the ns and ps LIB were observed to be decreasing and increasing, respectively, when traversed from tight to loose focusing conditions. The angular and radial intensities of the RF emissions from the ns and ps LIB are found to be consistent with sin2θ/r2 dependence of the electric dipole radiation. The normalized RF emissions were observed to vary with incident laser intensity (Iλ2), indicating the increase in the induced dipole moment at moderate input laser intensities and the damping of radiation due to higher recombination rate of plasma at higher input laser intensities.

Filamentation characteristics of focused fs pulses in atmosphere

We present the experimental investigations on the filament characteristics of sharply focused fs pulses (800 nm, 45 fs, 1 kHz) in air. Pulses with input powers in 3-12.2 PCr range were focused using three different focusing geometries f/#10, f/#15 and f/#20 corresponding to numerical apertures (NA) of 0.05, 0.033 and 0.025, respectively. The dynamics of filaments were observed via direct imaging of the entire reaction zone. The length of the filament has decreased with increasing NA from 0.025 to 0.05, while, the filament width has increased. For a given focusing geometry, the filament length and width increased with increasing power. However with higher NA, the length and width were observed to saturate at higher input powers. With the highest NA of 0.05 and higher input powers used in the current study, the presence of coherently interacting multiple filaments either resulting in a fusion or exchange of power.

Effect of lens tilt on SCE and filamentation characteristics of femtosecond pulses in air

We present the evolution of SCE associated with filaments due to the tilt of focusing lens under tight focusing geometries. Transform limited femtosecond (fs) pulses (800 nm, 45 fs, 1 kHz repetition rate) were focused in ambient air using three different focusing geometries f/#6, f/#7.5, and f/#12 corresponding to numerical apertures (NA) of 0.08, 0.06, and 0.04, respectively. The focusing lens was tilted from zero up to 20 degrees. The filaments decayed into two shorter parts through tilting of the lens and the separation between shorter filaments increased with increasing lens tilt, in tune with earlier reports [Kamali et al., Opt. Commun. 282, 950-954 (2009)]. The separation between the filaments matched well with the predicted distances due to astigmatism induced in loose focusing geometries. However the deviation increased as we moved to the tighter focusing geometries. The SCE spectrum demonstrated an anomalous behaviour. The SCE spectrum was suppressed at larger tilt angles of 12 - 20°. However at lower tilt angles, up to 8°, the SCE was observed to be same to that measured without any tilt of the focusing lens. This behaviour is predominant with tighter focusing geometries of f/#6 and f/#7.5, wherein the SCE was observed to be higher at 4° and 8° in comparison with that observed at an angle of 0°. Systematic study of the focusing lens tilt on anomalous SCE spectra and filament characteristics in the tight focusing geometry are presented.

RF emissions from laser breakdown of target materials

The detection and analysis of the radio frequency (RF) waves emitted by the nanosecond laser breakdown of atmospheric air and metal (aluminum and copper) targets is presented. The emissions from different target materials were observed to be spectral selective with specific dependence on laser and antenna polarization. From the laser produced plasma (LPP) of atmospheric air, the RF output was found to be increasing with the input laser energy up to certain value, beyond which almost no emission was observed over the frequency range used in this study. This effect is attributed to the modification in the net induced dipole moment due to the multiple plasma sources in the LPP at higher input laser energies. Between the metals studied, RF emissions from copper were relatively higher than that of aluminum because of the better plasma conductivity of copper. Further studies may lead to an efficient technique for standoff material identification from the RF signature peaks.