Rabia Qindeel

Plasma splashing from Al and Cu target materials and the growth of thin films on Cu and Al, respectively, has been studied using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a 1064-nm, 80-mJ, 8-ns pulse width as the source of ablation. The target kept rotating and the substrate, Cu for Al and vice versa, was placed at an angle of 15° with respect to the beam axis. During the laser-matter interaction, the targets absorbed thermal energy within the thermal region depth of 4.7 (1.1) nm, yielding an ablated skin depth of 6.7 (4.2) nm. The surface morphology of the exposed targets was studied by analyzing SEM micrographs obtained using a ZEISS SUPRA 35 VP. The obtained results are explained on the basis of different sputtering/ablation mechanisms. Comparatively severe damage forming a bigger crater is seen on the Al target surface in contrast to the crater on the Cu surface. This observation is correlated with the blustering effect and/or debris formation. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) of the substrates yielded the deposition of micrometric grain-size particles.

Dynamic and confinement of laser generated Aluminum plasma plumes expanding across a variable magnetic field have been investigated. A Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser with 1064 nm and 8 ns pulse width was used to generate plasma that was allowed to expand across 0.1 - 0.8 T magnetic field. The expansion of laser- produced plasma is characterized using constant laser power and in variable magnetic field. A Pulnix CCD video camera was used to visualize and record the activities in the focal region. The horizontal and vertical expansions of plasma plume were measured by using Matrox Inspector 2.1 software. The results showed that the plasma is expanding vertically and horizontally with respect to the magnetic field. The Al plasma interaction produced spectrum in the range of UV to visible light.