Dynamics of plasma formation during quasicontinuous laser irradiation of metals in high-pressure nitrogen atmospheres

This is a study of target destruction and the dynamics of surface plasma formation during the interaction of quasicontinuous laser radiation (λ = 1.06 μm, q = 1–7 MW/cm², τ ∼ 1.5 msec) with D16T duraluminum and bismuth in nitrogen atmospheres at pressures p = 1–20 atm. High speed photography and spectroscopy of the erosion plasma flare are used to determine the onset time for vaporization of the target, as well as the times of appearance of erosion and nitrogen plasmas for different gas pressures and laser energy fluxes q. The emergence of the plasma front from the vapor zone into the surrounding nitrogen is detected experimentally and the properties of the nitrogen plasma are studied.