Spectral selective radio frequency emissions from laser induced breakdown of target materials

Abstract

The radio frequency emissions scanned over broad spectral range (30 MHz–1 GHz) from single shot nanosecond (7 ns) and picosecond (30 ps) laser induced breakdown (LIB) of different target materials (atmospheric air, aluminum, and copper) are presented. The dominant emissions from ns-LIB, compared to those from the ps-LIB, indicate the presence and importance of atomic and molecular clusters in the plasma. The dynamics of laser pulse-matter interaction and the properties of the target materials were found to play an important role in determining the plasma parameters which subsequently determine the emissions. Thus, with a particular laser and target material, the emissions were observed to be spectral selective. The radiation detection capability was observed to be relatively higher, when the polarization of the input laser and the antenna is same.