Abstract

Research subject. The lifetime and delay in the formation of a laser-induced microplasma plume obtained using femto- and nanosecond laser sources, as well as the geometry of tracks on a fused silica plate recorded by this plume, are studied. Research objective. The influence of the laser pulse duration in the range from femto- to nanoseconds on the lifetime of a plasma plume and the geometric characteristics of structures formed by a microplasma plume on the fused silica surface are determined. Method. The time characteristics of the plasma plume are measured by simultaneously recording the plume glow intensity in time with a photomultiplier and the laser pulse intensity with a photodetector connected to an oscilloscope. The start of the recording coincides with the signal from the photodetector. The geometric dimensions of the tracks on the fused silica surface are obtained using optical profilometry. Main results. The lifetime of a plasma plume depends on the duration and energy of the laser pulse, and the plasma formation delay has a linear dependence on the pulse duration. The minimum average plasma plume lifetime of 7 ns is achieved with a pulse duration of less than 150 ps. In the nanosecond range, with a laser pulse duration of more than 30 ns, an exponential increase in the lifetime of the plasma plume occurs because of the replenishment of the plume with the remaining part of the pulse. Practical significance. This study provides recommendations for choosing the pulse duration to achieve specific geometric characteristics of the forming tracks. Based on the study findings, to reduce the lateral size of the tracks, the use a shorter pulse duration is recommended. However, to achieve deeper and wider structures, for example, for microfluidics devices, pulse durations higher than 50 ns should be used.

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