Pulsed laser irradiation of metal multilayers.
Vapor-deposited, exothermic metal-metal multilayer foils are an ideal class of materials for detailed investigations of pulsed laser-ignited chemical reactions. Created in a pristine vacuum environment by sputter deposition, these high purity materials have well-defined reactant layer thicknesses between 1 and 1000 nm, minimal void density and intimate contact between layers. Provided that layer thicknesses are made small, some reactive metal-metal multilayer foils can be ignited at a point by laser irradiation and exhibit subsequent high-temperature, self-propagating synthesis. With this presentation, we describe the pulsed laser-induced ignition characteristics of a single multilayer system (equiatomic Al/Pt) that exhibits self-propagating synthesis. We show that the thresholds for ignition are dependent on (i) multilayer design and (ii) laser pulse duration. With regard to multilayer design effects on ignition, there is a large range of multilayer periodicity over which ignition threshold decreases as layer thicknesses are made small. We attribute this trend of decreased ignition threshold to reduced mass transport diffusion lengths required for rapid exothermic mixing. With regard to pulse duration effects, we have determined how ignition threshold of a single Al/Pt multilayer varies with pulse duration from 10{sup -2} to {approx} 10{sup -13} sec (wavelength and spot size are held constant). A higher laser fluence is required for ignition when using a single laser pulse {approx} 100 fs or 1 ps compared with nanosecond or microsecond exposure, and we attribute this, in part, to the effects of reactive material being ablated when using the shorter pulse durations. To further understand these trends and other pulsed laser-based processes, our discussion concludes with an analysis of the heat-affected depths in multilayers as a function of pulse duration.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1030282
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2010-7724C; TRN: US201124%%79
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Proposed for presentation at the Materials Research Society Spring Symposium held April 25-29, 2011 in San Francisco, CA.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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