Expansion dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced plasmas: Influence of thermophysical plasma properties

Abouhussien, Youssef; Polek, Mathew P.; Beg, Farhat N.; Harilal, Sivanandan S.; Miloshevsky, Gennady

doi:10.1063/5.0292247

Expansion dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced plasmas: Influence of thermophysical plasma properties

Journal Article · Sun Nov 09 23:00:00 EST 2025 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0292247· OSTI ID:3001630

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[1]

Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, VA (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

This study investigates the expansion dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced plasmas, emphasizing the impact of plasma thermophysical properties and ambient gas composition. Through shadowgraphy experiments and multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the influence of parameters such as heat capacity, molecular weight, and thermal conductivity on plume morphology, shockwave evolution, and energy dissipation mechanisms is examined. A mixture multiphase model is implemented to capture the interaction between the plasma and the surrounding gas. Simulation results reveal that plasma expansion is strongly inertia-driven. Results show that differences in plasma properties and ambient conditions affect the shape and temperature distribution of the expanding plume. The early-stage dynamics are primarily dictated by pressure forces, whereas thermal and viscous effects play a growing role in the plume's behavior during later stages of expansion. The CFD findings show the necessity of accurate initial condition characterization, including crater geometry and plasma pressure and temperature, for reliable modeling of plasma evolution in laser ablation processes.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 3001630

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--217962

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 32; ISSN 1070-664X; ISSN 1089-7674

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (33)

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Musazzi, Sergio; Perini, Umberto Springer Series in Optical Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45085-3	book	January 2014
Femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation of solids Chichkov, B. N.; Momma, C.; Nolte, S. Applied Physics A Materials Science & Processing, Vol. 63, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01567637	journal	August 1996
Femtosecond pulse laser interactions with thin silicon films and crater formation considering optical phonons and wave interference Sim, Hyung Sub; Lee, Seong Hyuk; Kang, Kwan Gu Microsystem Technologies, Vol. 14, Issue 9-11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-007-0554-3	journal	January 2008
Target properties – Plasma dynamics relationship in laser ablation of metals: Common trends for fs, ps and ns irradiation regimes Irimiciuc, Stefan Andrei; Nica, Petru-Edward; Agop, Maricel Applied Surface Science, Vol. 506 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.144926	journal	March 2020
The effect of pulse energy on plasma characteristics of femtosecond filament assisted ablation of soil Yao, Shuang; Zhang, Jing; Gao, Xun Optics Communications, Vol. 425 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optcom.2018.04.079	journal	October 2018
Metal thin film ablation with femtosecond pulsed laser Kim, Jaegu; Na, Suckjoo Optics & Laser Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2006.10.001	journal	October 2007
Influence of pressure and pulse energy on the expansion dynamics of nanoparticle-enhanced laser produced plasma Soumyashree, Swetapuspa; Kumar, Prashant Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, Vol. 208 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2023.106761	journal	October 2023
Shock Wave Mediated Plume Chemistry for Molecular Formation in Laser Ablation Plasmas Harilal, Sivanandan S.; Brumfield, Brian E.; Cannon, Bret D. Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 88, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b04136	journal	January 2016
Controlled strong excitation of silicon as a step towards processing materials at sub-nanometer precision Dinh, Thanh-Hung; Medvedev, Nikita; Ishino, Masahiko Communications Physics, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-019-0253-2	journal	November 2019
Influence of ambient gas on the temperature and density of laser produced carbon plasma Harilal, S. S.; Bindhu, C. V.; Nampoori, V. P. N. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 72, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.120602	journal	January 1998
Ablation of solids by femtosecond lasers: Ablation mechanism and ablation thresholds for metals and dielectrics Gamaly, E. G.; Rode, A. V.; Luther-Davies, B. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 9, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1447555	journal	March 2002
Internal structure and expansion dynamics of laser ablation plumes into ambient gases Harilal, S. S.; Bindhu, C. V.; Tillack, M. S. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 93, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1544070	journal	March 2003
Ambient gas effects on the dynamics of laser-produced tin plume expansion Harilal, S. S.; O’Shay, Beau; Tao, Yezheng Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 99, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2188084	journal	April 2006
Thermodynamic and transport properties of an aluminum-nitrogen plasma mixture Dassanayake, M. S.; Etemadi, K. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 66, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.343710	journal	December 1989
Plume dynamics in femtosecond laser ablation of metals Donnelly, T.; Lunney, J. G.; Amoruso, S. AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3507157	conference	January 2010
Dynamics of plasma expansion and shockwave formation in femtosecond laser-ablated aluminum plumes in argon gas at atmospheric pressures Miloshevsky, Alexander; Harilal, Sivanandan S.; Miloshevsky, Gennady Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4873701	journal	April 2014
Characterization of ultrafast laser-ablation plasma plumes at various Ar ambient pressures Diwakar, P. K.; Harilal, S. S.; Phillips, M. C. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927625	journal	July 2015
Laser ablation in an ambient gas: Modelling and experiment Moscicki, Tomasz; Hoffman, Jacek; Szymanski, Zygmunt Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 123, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5010413	journal	February 2018
Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis Harilal, S. S.; Brumfield, B. E.; LaHaye, N. L. Applied Physics Reviews, Vol. 5, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5016053	journal	June 2018
Fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy for warm dense matter studies and ICF plasma diagnostics Hansen, S. B.; Harding, E. C.; Knapp, P. F. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5018580	journal	May 2018
Simulation of uranium plasma plume dynamics in atmospheric oxygen produced via femtosecond laser ablation Finko, Mikhail S.; Curreli, Davide Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5034470	journal	August 2018
Dilatation dissipation: The concept and application in modeling compressible mixing layers Zeman, Otto Physics of Fluids A: Fluid Dynamics, Vol. 2, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.857767	journal	February 1990
On the total enthalpy behavior inside a shock wave Shoev, Georgy V.; Timokhin, Maksim Yu.; Bondar, Yevgeniy A. Physics of Fluids, Vol. 32, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0005741	journal	April 2020
Investigating laser ablated plume dynamics of carbon and aluminum targets Finko, Mikhail; Crowhurst, Jonathan C.; Keller, Wesley J. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 29, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0099167	journal	August 2022
Two-temperature model for predicting heating and melting in metallic and semiconductor materials irradiated by x-ray pulses Abouhussien, Youssef; Miloshevsky, Gennady Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 137, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0250715	journal	March 2025
FLASH: An Adaptive Mesh Hydrodynamics Code for Modeling Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes Fryxell, B.; Olson, K.; Ricker, P. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 131, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/317361	journal	November 2000
Nuclear diagnostics for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) plasmas Frenje, J. A. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ab5137	journal	January 2020
Pulsed-laser evaporation technique for deposition of thin films: Physics and theoretical model Singh, Rajiv K.; Narayan, J. Physical Review B, Vol. 41, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.41.8843	journal	May 1990
Laser-generated plasma plume expansion: Combined continuous-microscopic modeling Itina, Tatiana E.; Hermann, Jörg; Delaporte, Philippe Physical Review E, Vol. 66, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.66.066406	journal	December 2002
Influence of ambient gases on plasma dynamics of ultrafast laser-induced filamentation in sapphires Ma, Rui; Ji, Lingfei; Yan, Tianyang Optics Express, Vol. 28, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.394765	journal	June 2020
X-ray ablation measurements and modeling for ICF applications Anderson, Andrew Thomas https://doi.org/10.2172/410403	report	September 1996
Shock Waves in Laser-Induced Plasmas Campanella, Beatrice; Legnaioli, Stefano; Pagnotta, Stefano Atoms, Vol. 7, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms7020057	journal	June 2019
Modelling of Plasma Temperatures and Densities in Laser Ablation Plumes of Different Metals Hill, Matthew; Wagenaars, Erik Photonics, Vol. 9, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9120937	journal	December 2022

Similar Records

Dynamics of plasma expansion and shockwave formation in femtosecond laser-ablated aluminum plumes in argon gas at atmospheric pressures

Journal Article · Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physics of Plasmas · OSTI ID:22252994

Expansion of radiative cooling of the laser induced plasma

Journal Article · Fri May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2006 · Journal of Applied Physics · OSTI ID:919018

Laser plasma plume structure and dynamics in the ambient air: The early stage of expansion

Journal Article · Sun May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Journal of Applied Physics · OSTI ID:21560254

Related Subjects

CFD modeling
Laser-induced breakdown
Plasma Diagnostics

Expansion dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced plasmas: Influence of thermophysical plasma properties

Citation Formats

References (33)

Similar Records

Related Subjects