Filament-induced breakdown spectroscopy with structured beams

M. BURGER, P. POLYNKIN, I. JOVANOVIC

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Filament-induced ablation represents an attractive scheme for long-range material identification via optical spectroscopy. However, the delivery of laser energy to the target can be severely hindered by the stochastic nature of multiple-filamentation, ionization of ambient gas, and atmospheric turbulence. In order to mitigate some of these adverse effects, we examine the utility of beam shaping for femtosecond filament-induced breakdown spectroscopy with Gaussian and structured (Laguerre-Gaussian, Airy, and Bessel-Gaussian) beams in the nonlinear regime. Interaction of filaments with copper, zinc, and brass targets was studied by recording axially-resolved broadband emission from the filament-induced plasma. The laser-solid coupling efficacy was assessed by inferring thermodynamic parameters such as excitation temperature and electron density. While under our experimental conditions the ablation rate with Gaussian- and Laguerre-Gaussian beams is found to be similar, the Airy and Bessel-Gaussian beams offer the advantage of longitudinally extended working zones. These results provide insights into potential benefits of structuring ultrafast laser beams for standoff sensing applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)36812-36821
Number of pages10
JournalOptics Express
Volume28
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 23 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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