Langmuir probe measurement of the bismuth plasma plume formed by an extreme-ultraviolet pulsed laser

Abstract

Properties of the plasma plume produced on a bismuth (Bi) target irradiated by a focused extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) capillary-discharge laser beam were investigated. Langmuir probes were used in both single- and double-probe arrangements to determine the electron temperature and the electron density, providing values of 1–3 eV and 1013–1014m-3, resp. Although the temperatures seem to be comparable with values obtained in ablation plasmas produced by conventional, long-wavelength lasers, the density is significantly lower. This finding indicates that the desorption-like phenomena are responsible for the plume formation rather than the ablation processes. A very thin Bi film was prepared on an MgO substrate by pulsed XUV laser deposition. The non-uniform, sub-monolayer character of the deposited bismuth film confirms the Langmuir probe’s observation of the desorption-like erosion induced by the XUV laser on the primary Bi target.