ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
In this paper we report on experiments to investigate the laser-induced breakdown properties of saline solutions of different concentrations and of highly deionized water, using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The observation of the dependence of the breakdown probability on the pulse energy gives information about the influence of the ion concentration on the breakdown occurrence. It has turned out that the generation of initial electrons for the avalanche by the ions determines the breakdown threshold in saline solutions. In extremely pure water, with no ions as electron donors, the first free electrons have to be produced by multiphoton ionization of the water molecules, which leads to a very sharp threshold. The region of pulse energies, where breakdown occurs only with a certain probability, has its minimum width in pure water, shows its maximum extension in low concentrated solutions and is again getting narrower with increasing concentrations.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.343999
