Laser plasma interaction

Field ionization
At the Bohr radius

the electric field strength is:

This leads to the atomic intensity:

A laser intensity of IL > Ia will guarantee ionization for any target material, though in fact this can
occur well below this threshold value via multiphoton effects.
Tunneling ionization
Keldysh (1965) and Perelomov (1966): introduced a parameter separating the multiphoton and tunneling
regimes, given by:

Where

is the ponderomotive potential of the laser field.

Plasma definitions: the Debye length
A plasma created by field-ionization of a gas or solid will initially be quasi-neutral. This means that the number densities of
electrons and ions with charge state Z are locally balanced:

Any local disturbance in the charge distribution will be rapidly neutralised by the lighter, faster electrons – Debye shielding:
shields potential around exposed charge:
Plasma classification
An ideal plasma has many particles per Debye sphere:
Plasma frequency
For a thermal plasma with temperature Tee one can also define a characteristic reponse time (eg: to disturbances from
external laser fields or particle beams):
Underdense and overdense plasmas
If the plasma response time is shorter than the period of a external electromagnetic field (such as a laser), then this
radiation will be shielded out.

Underdense, w > wpp:

plasma acts as
nonlinear Overdense, w < wp
refractive medium plasma acts like mirror
The critical density
To make this more quantitative, consider ratio:

Setting this to unity defines the wavelength for which ne = nc, or

The Critical density
Critical density

above which radiation with wavelengths λ>λµ will be reflected

Creation
  of critical surface
Comination of field and collisional ionization over the first few laser cycles rapidly creates a surface plasma layer with a
density many times the critical density nc.
Processes in the generation and evolution of the laser-induced plasma
Several steps can be distinguished to describe the generation of the ablation plasma and its
subsequent evolution into the ambient gas.
The process starts at the instant when the leading edge of the laser pulse reaches the target
surface .
Some energy of the incident laser pulse is first absorbed by the material inducing
microscopic as well as macroscopic changes in the material.
In particular, if the laser fluence or laser irradiance exceeds the ablation threshold, a phase
transition occurs in the irradiated
volume leading to the generation of a vapor.
This vapor, which can be neutral or ionized, interacts with the tailing edge of the incoming
laser pulse in the case of ablation with nanosecond or longer laser pulse duration.
The high density and temperature and the initial presence free electrons inside the vapor for
efficient laser energy absorption leading to a high degree of ionization.
A plasma is thus generated above the target surface, and a crater is left behind it.
The plasma then expands into the ambient gas and interacts strongly with it.
Since the laser pulse may still be present during the early stage of the plasma expansion,
the so called laser-supported absorption wave (LSAW) dominates the propagation of the
plasma into the ambient gas.
After the termination of the laser pulse, the resulting system continues to expand into the
ambient gas.
Relaxation processes, especially radiative decays, take place including the spectral
emission from the plasma, which is the basis of the LIBS technique.
The plasma finally condenses itself. A typical timescale of the development of the
sequential processes during the lifetime of the plasma is shown in Fig. the variations of the
electron density and temperature are also indicated.
Emission intensity
The intensity I of the light emitted by a given volume per unit time at a frequency ν is related to the intensity recorded by a
spectrometer î through the following equation:

Ω (expressed in sr) is the solid angle through which the emitting volume is observed. R(ῡ) is the optical response of the
device which is dependent on the wavelength . Then, the intensity, expressed in W, of a transition Iul from
a higher u to a lower l state is given by:

where Aul is the Einstein transition probability of spontaneous emission (s −1), h the Planck constant, ul the frequency of the
emitted photon (s−1). V is the emitting volume and Nu is the volume number density of emitting species (m −3) in the u
state.
Types of radiation
1. Atoms. An atom or ion immersed in a plasma will emit radiation when radiative transitions between various quantum
states occur. Bound and discrete energy levels are found below the ionization limit whereas a continuum of levels
stands above it.
Line radiation; occurs for electron transitions between
bound levels, leading to line spectra. When a transition from
an upper level of principal quantum number u to a lower level
l occurs at frequency ul, it must satisfy the usual selection
rules of spectroscopy.
Recombination (free–bound) radiation occurs when an
electron in the continuum recombines with the ion. Since
the upper level is continuous, the radiation is continuous.
Free–free radiation occurs owing to transitions between two free energy
levels. It happens when a moving charge radiates whenever it is accelerated or
retarded. Bremsstrahlung is caused by the acceleration of charged particles in
the Coulomb field of other charged particles. The major part of bremsstrahlung
is due to electron–ion collisions and, since the initial and final states are
continuous, the bremsstrahlung spectrum is also continuous.
2. Molecules. Molecules can occupy different electronic, vibrational and rotational states. The vibrational levels
occupied by a molecule made of two atoms in its electronic level p can be described by an anharmonic oscillator.
The Laser Plasma Interaction
A laser pulse incident onto a solid target is partially reflected and partially absorbed
within the material causing localized heating, ablation, ionisation, and subsequently,
the expansion of material from the absorption region of the laser.
This expansion of material from the target produces a density gradient of approximate
scale length L = cst, where cs is
the ion acoustic speed of the plasma and t is the duration of the expansion.
The ion acoustic speed is a function of ionization ℘,, electron temperature, Te, and ion
mass, mi,
With
A laser pulse with sufficient duration will produce a density gradient before the end of the laser pulse
which subsequently interacts with the expanding plasma
A critical density,

can be defined, beyond which a light wave of wavelength lL cannot penetrate. Positions within the plasma
where ne < ncr are described as ‘under-dense’ and positions with ne > ncr are
‘over-dense’.