Laser radiation-induced

Laser breakdown and

air breakdown
radiation -induced air and plasma shielding

David C.
David C. Smith Abstract. Gas
Gas breakdown, or the ionization
ionization of
ofthe
theair
airininthe
thepath
path of
ofaa high
high
United Technologies
United Technologies Research
Research Center power laser,
power laser, isis aa limit on
on the
the maximum
maximum intensity
intensity which
which can
can be
be prop-
prop-
East Hartford, Connecticut
East Connecticut 06108
06108 agated through the
the atmosphere.
atmosphere. When
When the
the threshold
thresholdfor
forbreakdown
breakdown isisex-
ex-
ceeded, aa high
ceeded, high density,
density, high temperature plasma plasma is is produced
produced which is is
opaque
opaque to to visible and infrared
infrared wavelengths
wavelengths and and thus absorbs
absorbs the the laser
laser
radiation. The threshold in
The threshold in the atmosphere
atmosphere is significantly
significantly lower
lower than
than inin
pure
pure gases
gases because
because of of laser
laser interaction
interaction and and vaporization
vaporization of ofaerosols.
aerosols.
This aspect
This aspect ofof air breakdown
breakdown is discussed in detail. Parametric Parametric studies
studies
have revealed the
have revealed the scaling
scaling laws of of breakdown
breakdown as as to
to wavelength
wavelength and and laser
laser
pulse duration, and these will be be discussed
discussed and and compared
compared with with existing
existing
models.
models. A A problem
problem closely related
related to to breakdown
breakdown isis the theplasma
plasmaproduc-
produc-
tion when a high
high intensity laser
laser interacts
interacts with
withaasurface.
surface.InIn this
thiscase,
case, the
the
plasma
plasma cancan be
be beneficial forfor coupling
coupling laserlaser energy
energy intointoshiny
shinysurfaces.
surfaces.
The plasma
The plasma absorbs
absorbs the
the laser
laser radiation
radiation andand reradiates
reradiates the the energy
energy at at
shorter wavelengths;
shorter wavelengths; thisthis shorter wavelength
wavelength radiation is is absorbed
absorbed by by
the surface,
the surface, thus
thus increasing the coupling of of energy
energy into the the surface.
surface. The
The
conditions for the enhancement
conditions enhancement of of laser coupling into
laser coupling into surfaces
surfaces willwill be
be
discussed, particularly
particularly for
forcwcwlaser
laserbeams,
beams, an an area
area ofof recent
recent experimen-
experimen-
tal investigation.
tal investigation.

Keywords: gas breakdown;

Keywords: gas breakdown; atmospheric
atmospheric propagation; plasma shielding; aerosol
aerosol
induced breakdown; lasers.
lasers.

Optical Engineering 20(6), 962 -969 (November/December

20(6), 962-969 (November /December 1981).
1981).

CONTENTS plications as
plications as aa high
high intensity
intensity fast rise time light source for use,
light source use, for
1.
1. Introduction
Introduction example, for pumping dye lasers. The breakdown of spark gaps
of spark has
gaps has
2. Clean
2. Clean gas breakdown:
breakdown: theory been used for for producing
producingfast fastrise timeelectrical
risetime Besides
switches.Besides
electricalswitches.
3. Clean
3. Clean gas
gas breakdown:
breakdown: experiments
experiments representing
representing an an upper
upper limitlimit on propagation
propagation through through the the at-
4. Theoretical
Theoretical model
model of
of aerosol
aerosol induced
induced air
air breakdown
breakdown mosphere, gas breakdown also also represents
represents aa limitlimit to the laser
to the inten-
laser inten-
5. Aerosol
5. experimental
Aerosol induced air breakdown: experimental sity which
sity which cancan bebe generated
generated in in high
high pressure
pressure gas gas lasers,
lasers, a limit
limit
6. Laser
6. Laser beam
beam blockage
blockage similar to
similar glass damage limit
to the glass limit of solid-state
of solid lasers.
-state lasers.
7. Laser
7. Laser supported
supported combustion
combustion waves
waves and enhanced coupling In
In this paper, we we are primarily with
concerned primarily
are concerned the atmospheric
with the atmospheric
8. Conclusions
8. Conclusions propagation limit and discuss material relevant to this
9. References
9. References phenomenon. The
phenomenon. The material
material in in this
this paper is is aa tutorial
tutorial review
review and
combines
combines previously
previously published work on gas gas breakdown
breakdown with more
with more
1.
1. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION emphasis
emphasis on on the
the propagation
propagation through through the atmosphere.
atmosphere. For most most
pulsed high power
pulsed high power lasers, propagation limit
lasers, the propagation limit is breakdown
the breakdown
is the
Laser induced gas breakdown has been studied
has been since the
extensively since
studied extensively threshold induced by
threshold induced by the interaction
interaction of the the laser
laser radiation
radiation withwith
invention of
invention of the
the ruby laser
laser in the
the early
early 1960s.
1960s. The
The existence
existence of a aerosols.
aerosols. The aerosol is vaporized and partially partially ionized
ionized by the in-
the in-
threshold for breakdown was
threshold was established
established early
earlyand
and the
the fact
fact that
that the
the tense
tense radiation
radiation andand subsequently
subsequently the the vapor
vapor-air -air mixture
mixture is is fully
fully
breakdown plasma
breakdown plasma severely
severely attenuates
attenuates the
the beam made measure-
made measure- ionized
ionized andand expands
expands to fill fill the
the laser
laser beam,
beam, blocking
blocking subsequent
subsequent
ments of
ments of this
this threshold importantinin terms
threshold important termsofof aa limit
limit on on at-at- laser radiation. In In this paper, we
this paper, discuss the
we discuss mechanism
breakdown mechanism
the breakdown
mospheric propagation
mospheric propagation of of high
high intensity laser beams. beams. The The in clean
clean gases
gases since
since itit is relevant
relevant to the the ionization
ionization process process in in the
the
breakdown problem
breakdown problem isis also
also of
of interest
interest for
for other reasons
reasons and ap- ap- aerosol problem.
plications. For example,
plications. example, the ionization of high high density gases isis the
density gases the A theoretical model of of aerosol
aerosol induced
induced breakdown
breakdown is is presented
presented
forerunner of laser
laser induced fusion; the breakdown
breakdown plasma
plasma hashas ap-
ap- and compared with experimental data. The rate of expansion of the the
plasma
plasma from
from the aerosol
aerosol initiation
initiation sites
sites and the the time
time required
required to to
Invited received Aug.
5074 received
Invited Paper 5074 Aug. 18, revised manuscript
1980; revised
18, 1980; manuscript received Feb. 6, 1981;
received Feb. 1981;
accepted for
accepted Feb. 11,
publication Feb.
for publication 11, 1981; received by
1981; received Editor Feb.
Managing Editor
by Managing Feb. 20, 1981.
20, 1981. fully block
fully block the laser beam are also also discussed.
discussed. Finally, produc-
Finally, the produc-
is a revision
This paper is
This revision of Paper 195-20
Paper 195 which was
-20 which was presented at the SPIE seminar
presented at on
seminar on cw plasma on
tion of aa cw surfaces and its
solid surfaces
on solid effect on the
its effect coupling
the coupling
Atmospheric Effects on
Atmospheric Effects Radiative Transfer,
on Radiative Transfer, Aug. 29 1979,San
-30, 1979,
29-30, Diego, CA.
San Diego, CA. The
The targets isis discussed
of laser energy into targets experimental results
discussed and experimental results are
paper presented there
paper presented there appears (unrefereed) in SPIE Proceedings Vol.
SPIE Proceedings 195.
Vol. 195.
Societyof
1981 Society
rol981 Photo -Optical Instrumentation
of Photo-Optical Engineers.
Instrumentation Engineers. presented
presented for the firstfirst time.
time.

962 // Vol.
962 Vol. 20
20 No.
No. 66 //November /December 1981
November/December 1 981 / /OPTICAL
OPTICALENGINEERING
ENGINEERING
 LASER RADIATION-INDUCED
LASER RADIATION -INDUCEDAIR
AIR BREAKDOWN
BREAKDOWN AND
AND PLASMA
PLASMA SHIELDING
SHIELDING

2. CLEAN
2. CLEAN GAS GAS BREAKDOWN:
BREAKDOWN: THEORY co -1] isis the
w the time
time that is accelerated by the field.
an electron is field. IfIf the
the col-
col-
The laser
The induced breakdown
laser induced breakdownthreshold
thresholdofofaa gas
gas can
can often
often be
be
lision frequency
lision frequency isis greater
greater than the radian
radian frequency
frequency of
of the
the field,
field,
the electron
then the electron acceleration
accelerationtime
timeisisvc-t,
v~ ] , rather
rather than
thanco-
co" 1I.. The
The term
described
described quitequite accurately
accurately by by the classical
classical microwave breakdown
microwave breakdown
theory, (co2 ++ r)
(w2 ^ 2)effectively
effectivelyaverages
averages over
over these
these twotwo times.
times.
theory, where
where thethe energy
energy is is absorbed
absorbed by free free electrons
electrons whichwhich are
oscillating
oscillating inin the
the electric
electricfield
fieldofofthe
the beam
beam andand absorb energy energy fromfrom governing equations
The governing equations for the
the gas
gas breakdown
breakdown process
process are are the
the
the field upon collisions
collisions with electron
electron continuity
continuity equation
equation and energy
energy equation.
equation. The continuity
continuity
the field with air molecules.
molecules. The classical
classical theory is
applicable equation is is
applicable ifif wewe have
have available
available aa single
single electron
electron to to initiate
initiate the pro-
cess,
cess, ifif the
the laser
laser photon
photon energy
energy isis small
small compared
compared to to the ionization
= vin - D n
an
potentialof
potential of the
the gas
gas atom,
atom, and and if if the rate
rate of of ionization
ionization by by the van - vRn2 (5)
multiphoton process is is less
less than
than that due to to the
the cascade
cascade or or collision
collision at
at A2
induced
induced process.
process. This
This latter constraint
constraint isis generally
generally met met by by visible
visible
and infrared
and infrared lasers whose pulse
lasers whose pulse duration
duration isis greater
greater than
than a nano-nano- where nn is
where is the
the electron number density, vi ^ is
is the rate of production
second interacting
second interacting with
with gases
gases at at atmospheric pressure or higher.
atmospheric pressure higher. of electrons,
electrons, D D isis the
theelectron
electron diffusion
diffusion coefficient,
coefficient, A A is
is the
The
The multiphoton ionization of gases is reviewed in
is reviewed in Ref.
Ref. 1,1, for
for those
those characteristic diffusion
characteristic diffusion length, i> a is
length, va is the attachment rate,
rate, and
and vR^ R is
is
interested
interested in in further
further details.
details. The second constraint is is also metmet forfor the recombination rate. rate. The
The energy
energy equation
equation for
foran
anindividual
individualelec-
elec-
most
most lasers
lasers and
and atmospheric
atmospheric gases, gases, since
since the
the ionization
ionization potential is is
tron is
of the order of 20 electron volts
micron
micron wavelength
to initiate
to
wavelength laser
initiate the process
process is
volts whereas
laser isis 22 eV.
is generally
whereas the

generally only
the photon
photon energy of a 0.6
eV. The existence of aa single
only aa concern
single electron
concern for laboratory
laboratory at
at
ee21* vc
(or + v2) eoc
m (w2
•-(—}
¡al
ldtlf
\ dt J(
(6)
scale experiments.
scale experiments.In In the
the atmosphere
atmosphere there there areare 103103 toto 104104 elec-
elec-
trons/cm"3
trons/cm-3 and even even for moderate size size laser
laser beams,
beams, the the probability where
where 1I the
the laser
laser beam intensity, co e0 the permittivity
permittivity of of free
free space,
space,
of finding
finding an an electron
electron in in the beam is high. As we will show, the
will show, the air
air and c thethe velocity
velocity ofof light.(We
light.(We have
have replaced
replacedE2 E2 /2
/2 byl /eoc in
byl/e0c in the
breakdown
breakdown isis almost
almost always
alwaysdominated
dominated by by the
the interaction
interaction of the absorption term in in agreement
agreement with the exact derivation of the ab-
laser radiation
laser radiation withwith aerosol
aerosol particles.
particles. ItIt is
is only
only under very very con-
sorption).
sorption). TheThe net rate
rate ofofenergy
energy gain
gain isis determined
determined by by the
the dif-
dif-
trolled
trolled experimental
experimentalconditions
conditionsthat that breakdown
breakdown of of air
air is
is the
the result
result ference
ference between
between thethe rate
rate of energy
energy absorption and and thethe energy
energy loss
loss
of laser
laser interaction
interaction withwith the
the gas
gas atoms
atoms alone rather than than aerosols.
aerosols.
However, rate represented
represented by thethe second
second term
term ononthetheright -hand side.
right-hand side. These
These
However, the the mechanism
mechanism of energy absorption absorption isis thethe same
same in in clean
clean
gas coupled and
two equations are coupled and must
must be
be solved
solved simultaneously
simultaneously along
gas asas in aerosol induced
in aerosol induced breakdown
breakdown and so so understanding
understanding clean clean
Boltzmann equation
with the nonequilibrium Boltzmann equation whichwhich determines
determines the the
gas
gas breakdown
breakdown isis moremore than academic interest. We
than of academic We willwill present distribution of electrons
electrons as a function
function ofofelectron
electron energy.
energy.
here
here the
the classical
classical theory
theory which
which isis easily
easilyunderstood
understood and shows how The recombination term term in
in the
the equation
equationcan canbe be neglected
neglected because
because
the
the breakdown should scale with laser radiation radiation wavelength,
wavelength, pulse pulse is only
it is only important at high high electron
electron densities,
densities, beyond
beyond the normally
length,
length, gasgas species,
species, and pressure. accepted
accepted definition of breakdown.
breakdown. In In order
ordertotogetgetaasimplified
simplified solu-
solu-
The force acting on aa free free electron
electron in in the
the electric
electric field
field associated
associated tion, we will
will assume
assume that the collision
collision frequencies
frequencies are independent
with
with the
the radiation is is of electron
electron energy and that the
energy and the losses
losses can
can be be described
described by by time
time
averaged
averaged quantities.
quantities. Breakdown will will be defined as as the point where
FF = eE
eE (1) full, single ionization
full, single ionization of the gas is achieved.
achieved. (It will will bebe shown
shown thatthat
the
the breakdown depends logarithmically
logarithmically on on the
the degree
degree of of ionization
ionization
where
where ee isisthe
theelectronic
electroniccharge
chargeand
and EE isisthe
the electric
electric field.
field. According
According and
and thus
thus is notnot critically
critically dependent
dependent on on this
this definition.)
definition.) For For
to Newton's law,
to law, the acceleration of anan electron
electron is
is given
given by breakdown, equation can
breakdown, the continuity equation can bebe integrated
integrated to to give
give
eE tp
a= (2)
m N/no = exp
N/n0 ¡
exp I (viBd -vz
- va -- D/A2)dt
D/A2)dt , (7)
(7)
where m
where m isis the
the mass
mass of the electron. In In an
an oscillating
oscillating electric
electric field,
field, J f\
o
an
an electron
electron will
will bebe accelerated
accelerated only
only during
during aa period of the the oscilla-
oscilla-
tion;
tion; after that,
that, itit will
will reverse direction but
but not
notincrease
increase its
its velocity.
velocity.
Therefore, an electron will
Therefore, will obtain aa velocity
velocity equal to the the accelera-
accelera- where nQ
where no isis the
the initial
initial electron
electron density and N is
density and is the final
final electron
electron
tion
tion times
times the
the period oscillation and its
period of oscillation its oscillatory
oscillatory energy
energy is is atom density),
density (also the initial atom density), and
andviBd
*>iBd is the ionization rate
Assuming aa square
required for breakdown. Assuming square laser
laser pulse
pulse of duration tp
tp
- mv
1
rnv22 =
= e2E2
(3) ("iBd -- "a
(viBd va -- D/A
D/A2) tp = Pn(N/no)
') tp fti(N/n0) .. (8)
(8)
22 2mco2
2mw2
where
where cowisisthe
theradian
radian frequency
frequency of the field. This
This oscillating
oscillating energy
energy The
The net
net ionization rate at breakdown
ionization rate breakdown cancan be obtained
obtained from
from the
the
isis in
in phase
phase with
with the
the laser
laser beam's electric
electric field.
field. When
When anan electron
electron
electron absorption
electron absorption equation.
equation. At
At breakdown
breakdown the the electrons
electrons must
must
suffers
suffers aa collision
collisionwith
withanan air
air molecule,
molecule, itit will
will be
be knocked
knocked out out of gain the
gain the ionization
ionization potential
potential of the gas,
gas, 0,
0, atatthe
theionization
ionization fre-
fre-
phase.
phase. Therefore,
Therefore, the rate of gain of energy of a free electron from quency
an electric field is given by
an oscillatory electric

dj/dt == (_Lmv2)vc
dE/dt [
e2E2
vc (4) (d
I\ iBd ~
OviBd
e 2 vc Bd
(at)t, (9)
2mco
2mw2
(4) dt l) Bd 60c m(co2
eoc m(w2 + v)
where £ is
is the electron energy and vc
vc is
is the electron atom collision
collision therefore,
frequency. This derivation is not exact, but
frequency. but gives
gives a physical
physical picture
for the
the inverse
inverse frequency dependence
dependence of thethe absorption
absorption as as well
well as
as
the roll of collisions. Thus, we
we see
see why physically the rate of of energy
energy d
e2 vc IBd 1
absorbed
absorbed byby the
the electron
electron from the field
field decreases
decreases asas the frequency
frequency (10)
or photon energy
energy increases.
increases. The exact derivation,
derivation, given
given by
by Browne
Brown2 viBd = dt l'
eoc m (w2 + r )
shows that
shows that in general
general w2 must be replaced
a;2 must replaced by (w2
(co2 ++ vc2) in the
^ 2) in the
denominator. Physically,
Physically, this can be explained by recalling
recalling that the Combining
Combining these
these two
two equations,
equations, we obtain

OPTICAL ENGINEERING
OPTICAL ENGINEERING// November/December
November /December1981
1981/ /Vol.
Vol.20
20No.
No.6 6/ / 963
 SMITH

eoc m 0cb(o>2
e0c m (w2++ vv) Prl (N/no)
m (N/n0)
IBd -
e2 vc tp

1 dt D
D
+ va +
+ "a + ——— (11)
+ dt ff a A2

The
The terms
terms in the bracket
in the bracket are
are the
thecharacteristic
characteristic frequencies
frequencies
associated
associated with with gas
gas breakdown
breakdown or the inverseinverse of thethe characteristic
characteristic
times.
times. The
The first term is the inverse
inverse of the cascade time for electron electron
density growth,
density growth, the the second
second isis the electron
electron energy
energy loss
loss frequency,
frequency, 109
and
and the last two terms terms are recognized
recognized as as the
the inverse
inverse of of the
the attach- 10" 5
ment time
ment time and and thethe electron
electron diffusion
diffusion time,
time, respectively.
respectively. For For
breakdown, the
breakdown, the term
term m(N/nQ)
fn(N /no)isis normally
normally taken
taken to to be
be 40,
40, cor-
cor-
responding to an initialinitial electron
electron density
densityofof105105 cm
cm'-11 and
and aa final den-
sity of
of 2.5
2.5 xx 1019
10 19 cm-3.
cm~3 . Fig. 1. Breakdown
Fig. 1. Breakdown threshold
threshold intensity
intensity as
as aa function
function of the
the laser
laser
For our
our qualitative
qualitative picture
picture of
of breakdown,
breakdown, we we will
will first
first assume
assume pulse duration. The
pulse duration. The air pressure
pressure isis in
in atmospheres
atmospheres andand the laser
laser
attachment are
that electron diffusion and attachment arenegligible
negligible corresponding wavelength is 10.6
wavelength 10.6 microns.
to large volume
volume gas gas breakdown
breakdown or high gas pressures.
pressures. According to
Kroll
Kroll and Watson3
Watson3 one of the the dominant
dominantenergy
energy losses
losses isis electronic
electronic
excitation
excitation of nitrogen at 6.7 6.7 eV.
eV. IfIf we
we assume
assume an an average
average electron
electron
PREIONIZATION ELECTRON
ELECTRON
energy of
energy of 6.7
6.7 eV,eV, we we get
get vex
vex ==2 x 101°
2xl0 10 Psec
Psec~-1 and vc
] and vc ==
44 xx lO^Psec'
1012Psec 1-1, , where
wherePPisisthe
thepressure
pressureininatmospheres.
atmospheres. Substituting DENSITY, cm -33
DENSITY, cm"
these expressions
expressions into into an equation, the the breakdown
breakdownintensity
intensityisis given
given
by 10 13
1013 1012
10 12 1011 1010
1010
1010 1

88xl02
x 102 4.5xlO-6 P2 X2)
X2)(l(1 + 22xl08
(1 + 4.5 x 10 -6 P2 x 108 tp
t p P)
P),, (12)
P t X2
Ptp X2
with the breakdown
with breakdown in in watts /cm2,, wavelength
watts/cm2 wavelength in in microns,
microns, to t in
in
seconds,
seconds, andand pressure
pressure in in atmopsheres.
atmopsheres. PlottedPlotted in Fig.Fig. 11 isis this
this
qualitative picture of breakdown
breakdown for for the
the10.6
10.6µ/JL CO2
CO 2 laser
laser radiation
radiation 14% N2-86% He
as
as a function of gasgas pressure
pressure andand pulse
pulse duration.
duration. We see see that for at-
mospheric pressure
mospheric pressure and pulses less less than 10 -7 sec
10~7 secthe
the threshold
threshold ap-ap-
proaches an
proaches an energy
energy fluence
fluencethreshold
thresholdof of -8
~8joules /cm2.. In
joules/cm2 In this
this 100% He
regime, the
regime, the time
time required
required for losseslosses isis longer
longer than the the laser
laser pulse
pulse 109 22% Ne -
duration. ForFor the
the longer
longer duration
duration pulses
pulses breakdown
breakdown occurs occurs when
when 78% He
the rate of
the of energy
energy absorbed by free free electrons
electrons balances
balances thethe rate ofof
energy loss
energy loss to
to atom
atom excitation.
excitation. In this this regime,
regime, thethe breakdown
breakdown
SOLID POINTS
POINTS
depends on the peak intensity and is independent of
depends of pressure
pressure andand isis ARE WITH
ARE WITH NO
1.6 x 109watts/cm2
1.6xl09 watts /cm2. Thus,the
. Thus, thethreshold
threshold intensity
intensity forfor clean
clean gas
gas DISCHARGE
breakdown scales
scales as
as X X~2-2; for short
; for short duration
duration laser
laserpulses,
pulses,totp<<10 -6
10"6
sec, it scales
sec, scales as P-1.
P" 1 .

3. CLEAN
3. CLEAN GAS GAS BREAKDOWN:
BREAKDOWN: EXPERIMENTS FOCAL DIAMETER
FOCAL DIAMETER =2.9
=2.9 xx 10
10 -2
Only by
Only by carefully
carefully filtering
filteringairair and
and insuring
insuring that
that a free electron
electron isis 108 1 I 1 1 1 1

0 10 -5 10 -4 10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 100
present in the laser beam, can clean clean gasgas breakdown
breakdown experiments
experiments be be
conducted. Two sets of experimental data will reviewed; those
will be reviewed; those of
of
Brown and Smith4
Brown Smith4 and Smith et et al.5
al. 5 DELAY TIME,
DELAY TIME, sec
The breakdown
The breakdown threshold
threshold of helium
helium withwith added
added gases
gases was
was ex-
ex-
amined by Brown and Smith4 Smith4 using a 10.6 10.6 micron wavelength
wavelength CO2
CO2 Fig. 2. Measured
Fig. 2. Measured breakdown threshold intensity
intensityat
at10.6
10.6 microns
microns oof
laser.
laser. Preionization was provided by a glow glow discharge to insure thethe helium and
helium and helium
helium mixtures as aa function of
of preionization
preionization electron
electron
density.
presence
presence of an initial electron. High High purity
purity bottled
bottledgases
gases were
were used
used
rather than air toto eliminate
eliminate the aerosol
aerosol contaminant
contaminant problem;
problem; the
the
gas was
gas was flowing
flowing sufficiently
sufficientlyfastfasttoto provide
provide aa gas
gas change
change for
for each
each associated with
associated with the Penning effect
effect where
where excited
excited helium,
helium, upon
upon col-
col-
laser shot. In a closed
laser shot. closed cell,
cell, the laser radiation hitting
hitting the
the focusing
focusing liding with
liding with neon,
neon, ionizes
ionizes it,
it, producing a more efficient breakdownbreakdown
lens and
lens and the cell
cell walls can drive
walls can drive off particles,
particles, thus
thus contaminating
contaminating channel.
the experiment. Shown in
experiment. Shown in Fig.
Fig. 22 are
are the
the breakdown threshold peak By carefully
By carefully filtering
filteringairair and
and using
using a large
large laser
laser beam
beam focal
focal
intensitiesofof helium
intensities helium asas aa function
function ofof delay
delay time
time between
between the
the volume to
volume to insure
insure aa free
free electron
electron fromfrom anan external
external source,
source, the
the
preionization discharge and the CO2
discharge and laser irradiation.
CO2 laser threshold of air can
can be
be determined.
determined. Micron
Micronsizesize filters
filters were
were used
used to
to
This delay
This delay time time varies
varies thethe preionization
preionization electron
electron density, determine the data shown
shown in in Fig.
Fig. 33 from
from Smith
Smith etet al.5
al. 5 and also
also from
calculated
calculated from from the measured
measured discharge current and shown
discharge current shown on thethe Lencioni.6
Lencioni. For small
6 For small focal
focal volumes,
volumes, the the threshold is higher for
is higher for one
one
figure. When 14 was added
14 percent nitrogen was added to the helium, nitrogen of two reasons:
reasons: electron diffusion losses losses or the
the smaller
smaller probability
excitation
excitation losses
losses dominated
dominated breakdown
breakdown withwith a measured threshold of finding an initial electron. At a beam diameter of of 11 mm, the data
of 11 to
to 22 xx 109
109 watts /cm in
watts/cm in good
good agreement
agreement with our our qualitative
qualitative from the two
two sources
sources agree
agree very
very well
well and
and also
also are
are an
anexcellent
excellent agree-
agree-
model. It
model. It is
is interesting
interesting to
to note
note that
that the
the addition of neon to helium
helium ment with
ment with the numerical
numerical calculations
calculations of of Canavan,
Canavan, Proctor, and and
lowered the
lowered the threshold
threshold of of the
the pure
pure helium;
helium; this is apparently
this is apparently Nielsen.7 In
Nielsen. In Ref.
Ref. 7,7,the
thedetailed
detailedcalculations
calculations of of the
the electron
electron

964
964 // Vol.
Vol. 20
20 No.
No. 66 //November
November/December 1 981 / /OPTICAL
/December 1981 OPTICALENGINEERING
ENGINEERING
 LASER RADIATION-
LASER RADIATION-INDUCED
INDUCEDAIR
AIRBREAKDOWN
BREAKDOWN AND
AND PLASMA
PLASMA SHIELDING

We will
will confine
confine the
the discussion
discussion to
to long
long pulses,
pulses,tp>
tp> 11 µsec.
/xsec. In this
1011 case, the
case, the distance
distance XX or the
the extent
extent of
of the
the vapor
vapor isis approximately
approximately
0 equal to the
equal the particle
particle radius.
radius. Any
Any further
further extension
extension will
will result
result in
in
o radial expansionofof the
radial expansion the vapor
vapor and
and a rapid
rapid drop
drop inin density.
density.
I Therefore,
CO j
LLJ
y o
D

SI
| | ID™ f
I B
N= dt . (14)
qr
0
0 I
Q ' o°
' o° ! We
We are interested
interested in knowing
knowing the density
density during
during aa cascade
cascade oror
< D •
-*-
LU electron density e-
e-folding
folding time
time for breakdown which
which is
is lc
tc or tp /40.
tp/40.
DC
Therefore,
03 io9
109 |
I |
I

ID'
0 -33 10 -22
10-" 10~
10 -11 10°
100 N
N =
- SIt/40gr
SItp/40qr .. (15)
FOCAL DIAMETER
FOCAL DIAMETER—- cm
cm
We now
We now use
use this
this expression
expression for the the density
density and
and calculate
calculate the the
threshold
threshold intensity
intensity using
using Eq. (11).
(11). The
The dominant
dominant loss
loss from
from very
very
Fig. 3. Experimentally measured
3. Experimentally measured breakdown
breakdown threshold
threshold of
of air
air at
at 10.6
10.6 small volumes,
micron wavelength.The
micron wavelength. Theair
air was
was filtered
filtered through
through finer andand finer
finer
small volumes, such
such asas around aa micron
micron size
size particle,
particle, isis electron
electron
until the
filters until the threshold
threshold was
was unchanged
unchanged at at each
each beam
beam diameter.
diameter. diffusion. According to Ref.
Ref. 10,
10, this
this energy
energy loss
loss rate is:
is:
The
The laser
laser wavelength
wavelength was 10.610.6 micron.
(d£/dt)diff
(di; /dt)diff == 7,D
?D/r
/r-'2 ==4.6
4.6x 10-18D
x 10- 18D/r2
/r2 (16)

distribution function were made and all

distribution all known
known loss
loss channels
channels were
were where D
where D is
is the diffusion
diffusion coefficient
coefficient and £ isis the average
average electron
electron
included.
included. ItIt should
should be
be noted
noted that the initial electron for breakdown energy.
energy. The theoretical model is complicated by two things: the dif-
visible lasers
of visible lasersmay
maybebederived
derivedfrom
frommultiphoton
multiphoton ionization of im- fusion
fusion coefficient
coefficient depends
depends upon particle
particle size
size because
because ofof Debye
Debye
purity
purity atoms
atoms asas discussed
discussed in
in Ref.
Ref. 1.
1. shielding and
shielding and the particle
particle absorptivity
absorptivity depends
depends on on particle
particle size,
size,
wavelength. For
material, and laser radiation wavelength. For all
all details
details and the ex-
ex-
4. THEORETICAL
THEORETICAL MODEL
MODEL OF
OF AEROSOL
AEROSOL INDUCED
INDUCED act modeling, one should consult Ref.
act modeling, Ref. 10.
10. For
For this
this discussion,
discussion, we
we
AIR BREAKDOWN
BREAKDOWN will
will assume
lowering of the threshold of
The lowering of air
air by
by the
the presence
presence of of aerosols
aerosols was was D
D == constant
constant ==300
300cm2 /sec
cm2/sec
observed experimentallybybySmith.
observed experimentally Smith.8 8 ItIt was
was observed
observed that that thethe
threshold for breakdown decreased decreased as as the laser
laser beam diameter was was and
increased.
increased. The threshold was was 33 x 109109 w/cm2
w /cm2for foraa beam
beam diameter
diameter of
10~2-2cm
10 cmand
anddecreased
decreased to to 55 xx 107
107w/cm2
w /cm2for foraa beam
beam diameter of of 0.7
0.7
cm. This lowering
lowering of the threshold with
S= l . (17)
cm. with diameter
diameter was was unexplained
unexplained
for several
for years; aa theoretical
several years; theoretical model model proposed
proposed by Canavan Canavan and and
Nielsen9
Nielsen9explained
explainedthe theobserved
observed experiments.
experiments. Their theory involved involved These assumptions
These assumptionsare are not
not too
too restrictive and we
restrictive and we can
can obtain
obtain aa
the increase
the increase in in the
the probability
probability of of thethe laser
laser irradiating
irradiating largerlarger qualitative feel
qualitative feel for
for the scaling
scaling of aerosol
aerosol induced
induced air breakdown.
breakdown.
diameter
diameter particles
particles asas the
the laser
laser beam diameter is is increased.
increased. TheseThese The electron-atom
The electron -atom collision
collision frequency is given
given by
larger
larger particles
particles are
are more
more easily
easilybroken
broken downdown and thus the the observed
observed 1.6x 10-7Itn
1.6 x 10 -71t
lower
lower threshold.
threshold. Many
Many theoretical
theoretical models
models have have been
been proposed
proposed to to vc = =1.6xlO-7
VC, N --
1.6x10 -7N p . (18)
(18)
explain aerosol
explain aerosol induced
induced breakdown
breakdown and and most
most are are referenced
referenced by by 40qr
40gr
Smith. 10 The
Smith.10 The theoretical
theoretical model model developed
developed in Ref. Ref. 10 10 isis described
described With diffusion
diffusion as
as the dominant
dominant loss,
loss, the
the cascade
cascade ionization
ionization isis given
given
below. by
When an aerosol particle is
When is irradiated by a laser of sufficientsufficient in-
22lBdvc
tensity,
tensity, the
the particle
particle isis heated
heated and and vaporized.
vaporized. This This vapor can be at a e
high
high density
density and
and bebe sufficiently
sufficiently hot hot soso asas to contain free free electrons.
electrons. (dE/dt)Bd
(df /dt) Bd -= 0/tp/40
(/)/tp/40 =- (19)
ecm(o;2 ++ vc2)
ecm(w2 vc2) r2
As
As we
we showed
showedearlier,
earlier, thethe breakdown
breakdown threshold
threshold can be reduced at
higher pressures
higher pressuresbecause
becauseof of the
the increased
increased collision
collision rate.
rate. After
After the Again,
Again, we
we note
note that vc *> c depends
depends upon
upon the
the density
density which
which inin turn
turn
initiation
initiation atat the surface
surface of the the particle,
particle, the the cascade
cascade process
process con- con- depends on the
depends on the laser
laser beam
beam intensity.
intensity. Substituting
Substituting into
into the
the above
above
tinues until an air
tinues until air plasma
plasma isis generated
generated which which thenthen expands
expands and and vc and solving
equation for vc solving for breakdown
breakdown we we obtain
obtain
subsequently fills
subsequently fills the
the laser
laser beam. Because of the high
beam. Because high absorptivity,
absorptivity,
the plasma blocks the
plasma blocks the laser
laser radiation.
radiation. Thus, the calculation
calculation of of the
the 7.1xl0 19 I B2 xt2 I/2
3.5xlQ22
3.5 x 1022 7.1xl0191B2xtp 2.4x
2.4 10"
x 10-12
aerosol induced
aerosol induced breakdown involves involves calculating
calculating the the vapor density !lBd
Bd =
produced and the threshold intensity
produced intensity for cascade
cascade ionization in the the A2
x2 r2 rl/2
l/2 t 1/2
vapor-air
vapor -air mixture.
mixture. OneOne interesting
interesting aspect
aspect of of this
this problem is is that the (20) p
density generated
vapor density generated depends
depends upon the laser intensity, and thus thus second term in the bracket
The second bracket isis the
the electron
electron atom
atom collision
collision fre-
fre-
the scaling
the laws for
scaling laws for aerosol
aerosol breakdown
breakdown are much much different
different from from quency; if it exceeds
quency; exceeds the radian frequency
frequency of the the laser
laser radiation,
radiation,
those for clean air breakdown.
those the explicit
then the explicit wavelength
wavelength dependence
dependence of aerosol breakdown is is
we assume
If we assume that
that all
all ofof the
the laser
laser radiation
radiation absorbed by the par- removed. In the long
removed. long pulse
pulse regime, this generally does not
generally does not happen.
ticle goes
ticle goes into
into vaporization,
vaporization, we we get
get qANV
gONV == SI were qq is is the latent breakdown threshold
Thus, the breakdown threshold has
has thethe following
following form:
form:
heat of vaporization of the the solid,
solid, ONAN is is the number
number density
density of of par-
par-
ticles
ticles vaporized,
vaporized, VV isis their
their velocity
velocity leaving
leavingthe the surface,
surface, and S is is the 0.5
surface
surface absorptivity
absorptivityof of the
the particle.
particle. The
The vapor
vapor density
density in in front of of Bd
IBd (21)
Xr i/2tp1/2
xr1/2t i/2
the particle is
the particle is determined
determined by by the continuity equation:
With IBd
I Bd in
in w/cm2 andrr in
w /cm2,, XXand in cm,
cm, and tp in seconds.
seconds.
7,-r aN Thus, we seesee that the theoretical
theoretical model
model predicts
predicts aa completely
completely dif-
dif-
9rr2 x
x = (ON)Virr2 = SI rr2 (13)
at
.

at q ferent
ferent parametric
parametric dependence
dependence for for long
long pulse
pulse breakdown
breakdown withwith

OPTICAL
OPTICALENGINEERING
ENGINEERING/ November/December 1 981
/ November /December / Vol.
1981 2020
/ Vol. No.No.
6 /6 / 965
965
 SMITH
SMITH

aerosols relativetoto that

aerosols relative that of clean
clean air. Clean
Clean air
air has
has the
the following
following
form:
1010
3.4 xxlO3
103 =10.6µ
I Bd = (22) A1203
1Bd X2
C.A. x2

independent
independent of pulse
pulse length
length (for tp>
tp > 11 µsec)
/nsec) and A -2 wavelength
andaax-2 wavelength
THEORETICAL
scaling. 109 MODEL A1203
MODEL AI203
Ñ
E
5. AEROSOL
AEROSOL INDUCED
INDUCED AIR
AIR BREAKDOWN:
BREAKDOWN:
EXPERIMENTAL
D
The breakdown threshold
The breakdown threshold of air air with
with aerosol
aerosol particles
particles under
under con- con- CO
trolled laboratory experimentswas
laboratory experiments was examined
examined by by Smith
Smith and and
Brown 111using
Brow& usingan anelectrical
electricalsuspension
suspension apparatus position single
apparatus to position single 108
-size particles at
micron-size
micron at thethe focusfocus of of aapulsedpulsed 10.610.6 micron
micron - 41,
wavelength CO2
wavelength CO2 laser
laser beam. Lencioni 12 seeded
beam. Lencioni12 seeded aa gas gas cell
cell with
with par-
ticles of sufficient
ticles sufficient density
density to insure the the presence
presence of of many
many particles
particles
in the
in the focal
focal volume.
volume. The Theexperimentally
experimentally measured measured breakdown
breakdown
threshold asas aa function
threshold function of of particle
particle diameter
diameter at at 10.6
10.6 micron
micron I I
107
wavelength
wavelength and and laser
laser pulses
pulses of 0.2 µsec jusec duration is is shown
shown in in Fig.
Fig. 4.4. 10-1 10°
100 io1
101 102
102
Also
Also shown
shown isis the the solid
solid theoretical
theoretical curve from the model previously previously
described. The
described. The agreement
agreement between between theory theory and and experiment
experiment is is not PARTICLE DIAMETER
PARTICLE DIAMETER (p)
bad;
bad; if there were were an an error of approximately a factor of three in the
particle diameter, then
particle diameter, then the the agreement
agreement would would be be good.
good. The The Fig. 4.4. Breakdown
Fig. Breakdown threshold
threshold air
air with A1203
A^Os particles
particles of
of varying
varying
theoretical model assumed that that thethe particles
particles were were spherical,
spherical, which
which diameter. The solid curve is that
that predicted
predictedby
by the
the developed
developed model.
model.
is
is far from
from truetrue in in the
the experiments.
experiments. This This could
could be be responsible
responsible for for The laser used
used was
was 10.6
10.6 micron
micron wavelength
wavelength with a pulse duration of
of
the discrepancy between between experiment
experiment and theory. 0.2 fpsec.
The wavelength
wavelength dependence
dependence of of aerosol
aerosol induced
induced breakdown
breakdown has has
not been
been examined
examined in in great
great detail.
detail. Lencionit2 reported that
Lencioni 12 reported that the
threshold of carbon
threshold carbon particles
particles ininair airwith
witha 50 -nsec 1.06-
a 50-nsec micron-
1.06-micron-
1012
1012
wavelength neodymium
wavelength neodymium laser, laser, and his results
and his results are shown in in Fig.
Fig. 5. 5.
X= 1.06 p
Data for short pulses at 10.6 10.6 micron
micron radiation are not available available for
CARBON
a direct comparison; however, the prediction of of the
the model
model is is shown
by the solid
solid curve
curve in in Fig.
Fig. 5.5. Since
Since the the model
model takestakes into
into account
account both
the pulse
pulse length
length and laser laser wavelength
wavelength dependence,
dependence, the agreementagreement
between experiment
between experiment and and theory at 1.06 1.06 micron wavelength tends to
verify the model's wavelength
verify wavelength scaling. scaling. Lencioni
Lencioni et et al.13
al. 13 have also 1011
measured
measured the the breakdown
breakdown thresholdthreshold of air air seeded
seeded with
with particles,
particles, Ñ
E
with a 3.5
with 3.5 µsec
/*sec duration pulse at 2.9 2.9 micron
micron wavelength
wavelength HF laser. laser. CJ

They extrapolated existing 10.6 micron wavelength data data toto the
the same
same i
pulse duration, Q
pulse duration, and concludedconcluded that the the aerosol
aerosol induced
induced threshold
threshold CO
m
scaled as X-1,
scaled X" 1 , consequently
consequently verifyingverifying againagain the the theoretical model's
model's
wavelength scaling. 1010
The dependence
dependence of aerosol induced induced breakdown on the laser pulse pulse
duration is
duration is difficult
difficult to obtain,
obtain, with with all all other
other conditions
conditions fixed.fixed.
Smith 10 has
However, Smith10 has compiled
compiled data data from many many sources
sources with
with pulse
pulse
durations fromfrom 10 10~8
-8 to
to cw
cwandand these
these results
results areare shown
shown in in Fig.
Fig. 6.
6. The
solid
solid points
points are are asas predicted
predicted by by the derived model, and the open
derived model, open
circles
circles are
are the
the experimentally
experimentally determineddetermined breakdown
breakdown thresholds at 10910-1 I I

10 -1 10°
100 10
1011 102
102
10.6
10.6 wavelength.
wavelength.The Thedatadatamarked
markedwith with ' "a"
V designates
designates a particle
particle
induced PARTICLE DIAMETER
PARTICLE DIAMETER (p)
(/i)
induced breakdown
breakdownand and those
those marked
marked with with "cm" correspond
correspond to to
the laser beam
the laser beam diameter
diameter incident
incident on a solid surface. In In these
these latter
latter
cases, the
cases, the limiting
limiting size size was
was not not determined
determined by by a particle
particle diameter
diameter Fig. 5.5. Breakdown
Fig. Breakdown threshold
threshold of of carbon
carbon particles
particles asas a
a function oof
but rather the laser beam beam diameter.
diameter. Since Since the the data were
were notnot taken
taken particle diameter
particle diameter at
at 1.06
1.06 µ/< neodymium
neodymium laser
laser wavelength.
wavelength. Lase
Laser
with the same particle size size oror laser
laser beam
beam diameter, we would not ex- pulse duration
pulse duration is
is 50
50 nsec.
nsec. TheThe solid
solid curve
curve isis the
the theoretically
theoretically
pect
pect to see the threshold intensity intensity in the the figure
figure decrease
decrease as tt ~-1/2. 1/2 . predicted threshold.
predicted
However,
However, since since thethe model
model predictions
predictions and the the experimental
experimental data data
are in
are in good
good agreement,
agreement, we we conclude
conclude that that for for long
long pulses
pulses the the a _ 8.9 x 105x2P2cm-1 , (23)
threshold willwill scale
scale as tp~tp -11/2
/2 .

X, the
with X, the wavelength,
wavelength, in in cm
cm and
and P, the pressure, in atmospheres.
6. LASER
LASER BEAMBEAM BLOCKAGE
BLOCKAGE infrared laser radiation
For infrared
For radiation andand atmospheric
atmospheric pressure, the
When aa gas
When gas breaks
breaks down due to an
down due an intense
intense laser
laser pulse,
pulse, the
the high
high breakdown plasma attenuation
attenuation isis severe
severe for any plasma
plasma larger
larger than
than
pressure, high density
pressure, high density plasma
plasma generated
generated isis highly
highly absorbing
absorbing to to the a cm. For
For short
short pulse
pulse breakdown,
breakdown, the theplasma
plasmagenerated
generated isis at
at high
high
incident
incident laser
laser radiation.
radiation. The absorption coefficient of an air plasma pressures (as
pressures high as 100
(as high 100 atmospheres)
atmospheres) and eveneven for
for visible
visible laser
laser
isis aa complex
complex function
function of temperature
temperature andand pressure;
pressure; however,
however, forfor radiation
radiation the attenuation isis severe.
severe. For
For very
very long pulses
pulses and short
the breakdown
the breakdown threshold
threshold problem,
problem, we we are
are usually
usually dealing
dealing with
with wavelengths, there could
wavelengths, there could be be considerable
considerable transmission
transmission of of laser
laser
plasma in the 11 to 2 eV eV temperature range and an initial
initial pressure of radiation through the plasma. This problem has has not
not been
been examined
examined
atmospheric pressure.
around atmospheric pressure. For this
this case
case in any detail.

966 // Vol.
Vol. 20
20 No.
No. 66 //November
November/December 1981 / /OPTICAL
/December 1981 OPTICALENGINEERING
ENGINEERING
 LASER
LASER RADIATION-INDUCED
RADIATION- INDUCEDAIR
AIR BREAKDOWN
BREAKDOWN AND
AND PLASMA SHIELDING
SHIELDING

previously
previously discussed
discussed to determine NBd as a function of of particle
particle size
size
and laser
and laser beam
beam intensity,
intensity, we
we can integrate
integrate the above equation
equation to
109
109 determine at
determine at what
what time
time in the pulse
pulse the
the intensity
intensity is attenuated to
8
2^(20)
G2µ(20) O EXPERIMENTAL
Q EXPERIMENTAL
one-half
one -half its
its initial value
, •THEORY
THEORY
108
108 Q50M25)
D50µ (25) 1/5
CN~
2.5 xxlO 10
1010 1/5
N
10? O 0.03 cm (29)
O 0.03
cut-off
tcut-off
E
u 107 R NTR13
NTR, 3 irV2I6
TrV2!6
1 5 30 AI (30)
b30µ(30)
Q 106 with
with t in seconds, all all dimensions
dimensions in in cm,
cm, andand IIininww/cm2
/cm2..
00
m The difficult calculation
calculation isis the
the plasma
plasma expansion
expansion velocity
velocity which
which is
.-
1.5cm(3)Q
1.5 cm (3)Q 0.2 cm£^ a strong
strong function
function of of wavelength
wavelength and and laser
laser beam
beam intensity.
intensity. AA de-
de-
105
105 • 082)
(32) | I tailed description is not possible
possible here.
here. For
For10.6
10.6 micron
micronwavelength,
wavelength,
X=
X = 10.6
10.6 np
ALUMINUM Table I gives
gives the
the velocity.
velocity. Therefore, we we can now calculate the time
10* 1 1 I 1 1 1 A for cut
cut-off
-off for
for a given
given setset of
of conditions.
conditions. For aa laserlaser beam intensity
104 of 106
106 w/cm2
w /cm2, , aa total
total particle
particle density
density of 250 cm cm"3-3, and aa range
, and range ofof
-8
10 -8
10 10-6
10-6 1Q-4
io-4 10~2
10-2 "r CW
cw
one kilometer, the the cut
cut-off
-off time is 1212 /-tsec.
µsec. Thus,
Thus, for this set of prop-
tp(sec)
t(sec) agation conditions, the the pulse
pulse duration
durationwould
wouldbe belimited
limitedtotoaa1212 µsec
^isec
because after
because after this
this time,
time, the
the laser
laser radiation
radiation would
would be be attenuated
attenuated
almost completely
completely by by the aerosol induced plasma.
Fig.
Fig. 6.
6. Experimentally
Experimentally measured (open symbols)
measured (open symbols) and
and theoretically
theoretically
predicted (closed symbols) breakdown threshold measurements
measurements as as
a function of laser pulse duration. The data marked
a marked with "/'-" refer to
"g" refer to TABLE
TABLE I.I. Plasma
Plasma Expansion
Expansion Velocity
Velocity as
as aa Function of Laser
Laser
aerosol
aerosol or or particle
particle induced
induced breakdown
breakdown and and those
those marked
marked with Intensity for
for 10.6
10.6 µ
/< Wavelength
"cm"
"cm" refer
refer to
to the
the beam
beam diameter
diameter on
on aa solid
solid surface.
surface.
REGIME I W/cm 2
IWIcm2 V cm/sec
V cm /sec

The problem
problem of beam blockage with with aerosol induced
induced breakdown LSC THRESHOLD
LSC 105
105 3x103
3 x 103
has been
has been examined
examinedunderunder the
the assumption
assumption that that any laser
laser radiation
incident on
incident on an aerosol induced breakdown is is completely
completely absorbed. LSC
LSC 105 -107
105 -107 3x103 -3x104
3x103 -3x104
The
The problem
problem is is that
that the
the breakdown
breakdown sites sites are
arerelatively
relatively widely
widely
spaced, and there is a finite time for the plasma plasma to to expand
expand andand com-
com- TRANSITION 107 -2x107
107 -2 x 107 3x104
3 x 104-105
-105
pletely
problem was
block the
pletely block the entire
was first
entire laser
first presented
laser beam.
presented in
beam. The
in Ref.
The basic
14. This
Ref. 14.
treatment of this
basic treatment
This treatment has been im-
this
LSD
LSD 2x107
i 1'3
I1/3
proved
proved upon upon by A. J. CantorCantor15 15 and
and his model is the one
his model one wewe will
will
discuss.
The
The beam
beam blockage
blockage problem
problem isis complicated
complicated by by the
the facts
facts that
that the
threshold
threshold for for breakdown
breakdown depends
depends on on particle
particle size,
size, that
that the
the at- Thus
Thus we
we can see
see that the
the aerosol
aerosol breakdown
breakdown problem
problem isis much
much
mosphere contains
mosphere contains aa distribution
distribution in in size
size of particles,
particles, and that the the more
more complicated
complicated than thethe clean
clean air
air breakdown
breakdown because
because aasingle
single
expansion rate
expansion rate of the breakdown plasma from the the aerosol
aerosol initiation
initiation threshold
threshold value
value cannot be given
given and thethe atmospheric
atmospheric propagation
propagation
sites
sites isis aa function of laser
laser beam
beam intensity.
intensity. limit depends
limit depends on range, aerosol
aerosol size,
size, and
and density.
density. The
The wavelength
wavelength
For aa strong
For strong blast
blast wave,
wave, i.e., hypersonic
hypersonic flow,flow, the one one-- scaling of the
scaling of the aerosol
aerosol breakdown problem is is also difficult to deter-
dimensional velocity
dimensional velocity of
of an
an LSD
LSD (laser
(laser supported detonation) wave wave mine analytically
mine analytically for all regimes.
regimes. For
For long
long pulses
pulses where
where the
the LSD
LSD
is given óy16by 16 wave velocity
wave applicable the cut
velocity is applicable -off time
cut-off time scales
scales asasX X"
-1.2,
1 2,
somewhat
somewhat weaker
weaker than
than clean
clean air breakdown.
1/3
V = [2(_l)2 I
7. LASER
LASER SUPPORTED
SUPPORTED COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION WAVES
WAVES AND
Co
ENHANCED COUPLING
loss in
The loss in intensity
intensity along
along a path due
due to
toaerosol
aerosolbreakdown
breakdownis15
is 1 A problem closely
closely related to gas breakdown is is the plasma produced
when aa high
when intensity laser
high intensity laser isis focused
focused on on aa solid surface. Just
solid surface. Just asas
with the particle
with induced breakdown, the
particle induced the laser
laser radiation
radiation vaporizes
vaporizes
dl
dI the surface (or defects on the surface), surface), andand ifif the
the intensity
intensity isis suffi-
= --dzNBd
dz NBd ^[v(t-tBd)]
r[V(t-tBd)22 ,,
I ciently
ciently high
high aa plasma is is formed in in the
the air
air-vapor
-vapor mixture. For short short
pulses, such
pulses, such an effect is is called
called aa laser
laser supported
supported detonation
detonation wave wave
where NBd is is the number of breakdowns,
breakdowns, V V is
is the plasma expansion (LSD wave)
(LSD wave) because
because a supersonic,
supersonic, rapidly rapidly expanding
expanding plasma plasma
velocity,
velocity, tBd
tBdisisthe
thetime
timerequired
required toto breakdown,
breakdown, and t is is time; the
the evolves
evolves similar
similar toto an
an explosion
explosion or detonation. For For long
long pulses
pulses or cw cw
bracketed term
bracketed term above
above isis the
the diameter
diameter of the
the breakdown
breakdown plasma
plasma lasers,
lasers, this effect is called a laser supported
supported combustion
combustionwave wave (LSC
(LSC
which isis expanding
which expandingand and is,is, therefore,
therefore, aa function
function ofof time.
time. The
The wave) because
wave) because the the absorbed
absorbed energy results in
energy results in a slow,
slow, subsonic
subsonic
number of breakdowns
number breakdowns is is determined
determined by by the size
size distribution
distribution of plasma expansion.
expansion. In most cases, the production of of aa plasma by the
aerosols
aerosols and
and the breakdown threshold of of aerosols.
aerosols. WeWe will
will assume
assume laser isis detrimental,
laser resulting in
detrimental, resulting in attenuation
attenuation of of the beambeam and,and,
a particle distribution therefore, shielding.
therefore, shielding. However,
However, under the the appropriate
appropriate conditions,
conditions,
the plasma produced on aa solid
the plasma solid surface
surface cancan bebe beneficial
beneficial for cou-cou-
3NT pling laser
laser energy
energy into solids, if the surface is highly reflecting reflecting atat the
the
f(r)
f(r) _
= laser wavelength.
wavelength. When the plasma is produced, itit absorbs absorbs thethe laser
laser
V4
Rlr4 radiation effectively
radiation effectively and and reradiates
reradiates absorbed
absorbed energy energy at at much
much
shorter wavelengths.
wavelengths. This This radiation (and possible possible thermal conduc- conduc-
where
where the
the distribution
distribution hashas been
been assumed
assumed to to be
be of the
the type
type falling
falling tion from the plasma)
plasma) is is absorbed by by the
the surface
surface resulting
resulting in better
off as
as 11/r4
/r4 for
for particles
particlesofof radius
radius longer
longerthan
than Rj
R, and
and constant
constant for coupling of
coupling of the
the laser
laser energy
energy to the the solid.
solid. ThisThis phenomenon
phenomenon isis
particles smaller
particles smallerthan
thanRj.
R,. A
A typical
typical value
value for
for R,
R, is 0.05
0.05 µ^ with
with a known as
known as enhanced
enhanced coupling.
coupling. With pulsed pulsed lasers,
lasers, this effect
effect has
has
total density
density of aerosols of 250 250 cm
cnr3-3.. Using
Using the
the breakdown
breakdown model
model been known for years and detailed detailed measurements
measurements of of the
the laser inten-

OPTICAL ENGINEERING
OPTICAL ENGINEERING/ November/December 1981
/ November /December / Vol.
1981 / Vol.2020No.
No.6 6/ / 967
967
 SMITH
SMITH

sity
sity required
required and the the enhancement
enhancement factors have been
factors have published. 17
beenpublished.17
Only recently has
Only recently has the effect been
the effect observed with
been observed with cw laser radiation
cw laser
in experiments
experiments carried carried out by Smith. 18 This cw enhancement and
by Smith.18 and
wave effects
LSC wave
LSC will be discussed below.
effects will
Detailed studies
Detailed studies of of the ignition and maintenance of
the ignition of cw plasmas
cw plasmas
with 10.6-
with 10.6-micronmicroncw cwCO2 CO2laser laserradiation
radiationhave havebeen reported in
been reported in
Refs. 19
Refs. 19 and 20. A A six -kilowatt cw
six-kilowatt was used
laser was
cw laser studies
these studies
used for these
and the
the results
results are shown in
are shown Fig. 7.
in Fig. 7. 10'
Plotted in in Fig.
Fig. 77 is is the intensity necessary necessary to ignite or
to ignite maintain a
or maintain
cw plasma as
cw plasma function of
as aa function of the diameter. Thus,
beam diameter.
laser beam
the laser Thus, there are
two thresholds:
thresholds: one is threshold on the surface and the
ignition threshold
is the ignition
second
second is is the maintenance
maintenance threshold threshold or the intensity necessary to
intensity necessary
sustain
sustain an existing plasma. For these
existing plasma. experimental conditions for
these experimental for
laser beams
laser beams largerlarger thanthan 0.1 cm, the threshold for igniting
0.1 cm, plasma
igniting a plasma
steel isisgreater
on steel greaterthan than that that required to maintain an existing existing plasma to 106 STEEL
in air atat thethe same
same beam beam diameter.
diameter. Thus, Thus, ignition
ignition dominates
dominates and and
determines
determines the the threshold.
threshold. Once Once ignited,
ignited, aa plasma
plasma generated
generated will will
propagate away away from from the the target to the axial axial position where where the the in-
in-
tensity is equal to the the maintenance
maintenance intensity intensity in air. The
maintenance curve
maintenance curve in in still
still air
air isis the
the lower
lower curve
curve in Fig. 7,
in Fig. 7, for laser ALUMINUM
diameters greater than 11 mm.
beam diameters
beam mm. 10 5
In order
In order to to achieve
achieve the the enhanced
enhanced coupling
coupling as as previously
previously dis- dis-
cussed, the
cussed, the plasma must be maintained close close to to the surface. This is
accomplished by
accomplished by aa cross
cross flowflow or wind across across the which will
beam which
the beam will IM . AIR
not allow
not allow the the plasma
plasma to propagate.
propagate. For the the proper
proper conditions
conditions of of
laser beam
laser beam diameter
diameter and and cross
cross flow,
flow, thethe plasma confined to
plasma isis confined to a
boundary layer on the surface and can then increase the coupling of
the coupling of
laser radiation to shiny
laser targets.
shiny targets. 0.001 0.01 0.1 1.0
An experiment
experiment was was performed
performed to to test this concept. A schematic
A schematic
of the experiment
experiment is is shown
shown in Fig. 8. 8. The experiment was
The experiment was carried BEAM dia
out in argon so that large large diameter plasmas could be sustained. The
plasma was
plasma was ignited
ignited on on the ignition
ignition target surface.surface. After ignition,
After ignition, Fig. 7.7. Experimentally
Fig. Experimentally measured
measured threshold
threshold for
for a
a laser
laser supported
supported
the plasma
the plasma propagated
propagated up up the beam beam where
where it was was stopped
stopped and and combustion
combustion wave
wave for cw 10.6 micron wavelength
10.6 micron wavelength as as aa function
function of
of
stabilized by
stabilized by a cross
cross-jet -jet ofof argon
argon with with a flow
flow velocity approx-
velocity of approx- laser beam
laser beam diameter.
diameter. Lower
Lower curve
curve is
is the intensity
intensity required
required to
to sus-
sus-
imately 80
imately 80 m/sec.
m /sec. The The CO2 CO2 laserlaser beam diameter was
beam diameter was 0.50.5 cm. To To tain aa plasma
plasma in
in air.
air.
demonstrate the
demonstrate the enhanced
enhanced coupling, coupling, aa target was rapidly in-
was then rapidly
serted behind
serted behind the the plasma
plasma and and the the time
time required
required to penetrate
penetrate the
0.16 cm
0.16 cm shiny
shiny aluminum
aluminum target was was measured.
measured. The experiments
The experiments
were then
were then repeated
repeated but with no plasma present; this
plasma present; this was achieved
was achieved CW I FOCUSING
by removing
by removing the the ignition
ignitiontarget targetatat the the focus.
focus. In In order
order to make a
to make C0 2 BEAM MIRROR
valid comparison, everything else
valid else waswas repeated including the
repeated including the argon
jet, the argon atmosphere, and the insertion of the aluminum target
into the laser beam. Shown in Table Table II are the penetration times times of of CW LASER SUSTAINED
several experimental
several experimentalruns runswith with and and without plasma. It is
without plasma. obvious
is obvious PLASMA
that the
the penetration
penetration time time is is considerably
considerably shorter shorter withwith the plasmaplasma
than without it. We We cannot
cannot determine
determine the the exact magnitude of the
exact magnitude the IGNITION TARGET ARGON JET
coupling in
enhanced coupling presence of
the presence
in the plasma for
of plasma reasons. First,
two reasons.
for two First, TARGET
the penetration time time is long compared to the radial conduction heat heat
transfer
transfer time time in the the aluminum
aluminum which which makes dependence of
makes the dependence
penetration
penetration time time on on surface
surface absorption
absorption nonlinear.
nonlinear. Second,Second, the the Fig. 8.8. Schematic
Fig. Schematic of
of experimental
experimental set-up
set-up to
to examine
examine enhanced
enhanced
coupling.
coupling. CW
CW CO2 beam is
CO2 beam is focused
focused on
on ignition
ignition target,
target, the
the plasma
plasma is
is
plasma generated is approximately 33 cm in diameter which spreads stabilized by
by the argon jet and then the target is inserted behind the
the absorbed
the absorbed energy energy over over the the surface
surface to to a diameter
diameter much much largerlarger cw sustained plasma.
plasma.
than thethe laser
laser beam
beam diameter.
diameter. These These areare counteracting
counteracting effects. effects.
Therefore, we can state that the presence of
the presence of aa cw sustained plasma
cw sustained plasma
on a shiny solid
on solid surface
surface can substantially increase increase the coupling of 8. CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
laser radiation into solids.
laser solids.
dominated by
propagation isis dominated
The breakdown limit for atmospheric propagation by
the interaction of the
the laser
laser radiation
radiation with aerosols. The
with aerosols. theoretical
The theoretical
model presented shows
model presented shows that
that the threshold
threshold for
for aerosol
aerosol induced
induced
TABLE II.
TABLE Required to
II. Experimentally Measured Time Required Penetrate
to Penetrate scales as
breakdown scales
Aluminum with and without
Aluminum without aa CW
CW Sustained
Sustained Plasma
Plasma
1
2024 TARGETS,
CLAD ALUMINUM TARGETS,
2024 CLAD IBd
Bd a Xr'1 /2tp I/2
1 i2
12 kW, D=0.5
PP == 12kW, cm, t=
D = 0.5 cm, 0.064 in.
t = 0.064 Xr

subject
subject to the assumptions
assumptions detailed in this paper.
this paper.
TIME, sec
PENETRATION TIME,
PENETRATION sec AVG Unlike
Unlike clean
clean gas
gas breakdown,
breakdown, beambeam blockage
blockage does
does not occur
not occur
rapidly,
rapidly, but time
time isis required for the
the breakdown
breakdown plasma expand
plasma to expand
PLASMA
NO PLASMA 6.0 6.0
6.0 5.9 4.4
6.0 5.9 4.4 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.2
5.0 5.0 5.2 4.5
4.5 5.2
5.2
from the
from the aerosol initiation sites
aerosol initiation sites to
to fill
fill the beam.
beam. A model for this
PLASMA 0.7 0.8 0.7
0.7 0.8 0.7 0.3 0.4
0.3 0.4 1.0 1.1
1.0 1.1 0.45
0.45 0.68 expansion
expansion of cut -off time
cut-off time was
was presented. breakdown is
presented. Although breakdown is
almost always
almost always considered be detrimental to laser applications, we
considered to be we

Vol. 20
968 // Vol. November/December
No. 66 //November
20 No. 1981 / /OPTICAL
/December 1981 ENGINEERING
OPTICALENGINEERING
 LASER RADIATION-INDUCED
LASER RADIATION- INDUCEDAIR
AIRBREAKDOWN
BREAKDOWNAND
AND PLASMA
PLASMA SHIELDING
SHIELDING

discussed the
discussed the concept
concept of enhanced
enhanced coupling
coupling of laser radiation into
into 6. D. E.
D. E. Lencioni,
Lencioni, Appl. Phys. Phys. Lett.
Lett. 23,
23, 12
12 (1973).
(1973).
shiny
shiny surface
surface solids
solids by
by the of a plasma on the surface.
the production of surface. 7. G. H. Canavan,
Canavan, W. W. A.A. Proctor,
Proctor,P.P.E.E.Nielsen,
Nielsen, and
andS.S. D.
D. Rockwood,
Rockwood,
is similar
IEEE J. of
IEEE of Quantum
Quantum Electron.
Electron. 8,8, 564
564 (1972).
(1972).
mechanism is
The mechanism to aerosol
similar to aerosol induced
induced breakdown.
breakdown. Ex-
Ex- 8. D. C.
D. C. Smith, Appl.
Appl. Phys.
Phys. Lett.
Lett. 19,
19, 405
405 (1971).
(1971).
perimental data
perimental data demonstrating the concept
demonstrating the concept using
using cw
cw CO2
CO2 laser
laser 9. G. H.
H. Canavan
Canavan and and P.P.E.E.Nielsen,
Nielsen,Appl.
Appl.Phys.
Phys.Lett.
Lett.22,
22,406
406(1973).
(1973).
radiation were
were presented. 10. D. C.
C. Smith,
Smith, J.J. ofofAppl.
Appl.Phys.
Phys.48,48,2217
2217(1977).
(1977).
11. D. C.
D. C. Smith and R. T.
Smith and T. Brown,
Brown, J.J. ofofAppl.
Appl.Phys.
Phys.46,
46,1146
1146 (1975).
(1975).
12. D. E.
D. E. Lencioni,
Lencioni, Appl. Phys. Phys. Lett.
Lett. 25,
25, 15
15 (1974).
(1974).
9. REFERENCES
9. REFERENCES 13. D. E.
D. E. Lencioni,
Lencioni, L. L. C.
C. Pettingill,
Pettingill, and
and D.D. P.P.DeGloria,
DeGloria, MIT MIT Lincoln
Lincoln
1.
1. Smith and
D. C. Smith and R.
R. G. Meyerand, Jr., "Laser
G. Meyerand, "LaserRadiation
RadiationInduced
InducedGasGas Laboratory Report LTP
Laboratory LTP-35,-35, Oct.,
Oct., 1976,
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unpublished.
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andS.S.Glicker,
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Gases: Alternating
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R. T. Brown,
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OPTICAL ENGINEERING
OPTICAL ENGINEERING/ /November/December 1981 // Vol.
November /December 1981 Vol. 20 No. 66 // 969
20 No. 969