Temporally Resolved Spectroscopy of Laser-Induced Carbon Ablation Plasmas

Temporally resolved emission spectra (360-630 nm) of carbon ablation plasmas produced during laser hole boring by a 25-ns duration 1-J ruby laser pulse are presented. The emitted line radiation originates from, C+++ to C+ depending upon the time relative to the laser pulse. Plasma temperatures of 12-14 eV during the laser pulse to about 4 eV, 140 ns after the laser pulse are obtained by comparing the spectroscopic results to a collisional-radiative equilibrium (CRE) model which bridges the gap between the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) model and the coronal model.