Abstract
Our measurements of micro-plasma following laser-induced optical breakdown of nitro compound explosive simulants, here 3-nitrobenzoic acid, show well-developed molecular spectra during the first several hundreds of nanoseconds. Analysis of recorded carbon spectra is accomplished using accurate line strengths for the diatomic molecular Swan system. Presence of hydrogen-beta allows us to infer electron density in the plasma evolution. Computational challenges include accounting for background variation and appropriate modeling of hydrogen embedded in molecular spectra. Recorded and computed spectra agree nicely for time delays on the order of 1.6 μs from optical breakdown when using a single temperature for local thermodynamic equilibrium plasma.
PDF Article
More Like This
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription