Abstract

Laser intensity thresholds for the onset of stimulated Raman scattering and the breakdown in resonant micro-meter-sized droplets are reduced to below those for nonresonant droplets by a factor of ~3. This reduction is most likely caused by the enhancement of electromagnetic energy (photon) densities within the droplets over and above that in nonresonant droplets. The magnitude of the threshold reduction for breakdown is consistent with the assertion that (1) input (pump) wavelength resonances that initiate plasma have cavity Q’s of ~10⁴ and (2) finite regions of high-electromagnetic-energy density within the droplet, with dimensions of the order of the Debye length, are required to initiate plasma.

© 1992 Optical Society of America

Aerosol-induced laser breakdown thresholds: wavelength dependence

Ronald G. Pinnick, Petr Chýlek, M. Jarzembski, E. Creegan, V. Srivastava, Gilbert Fernandez, J. D. Pendleton, and A. Biswas
Appl. Opt. 27(5) 987-996 (1988)

Laser-induced ion formation thresholds of aerosol particles in a vacuum

David S. Thomson and Daniel M. Murphy
Appl. Opt. 32(33) 6818-6826 (1993)

Pressure dependence of the laser-induced breakdown thresholds of gases and droplets

Petr Chylek, Maurice A. Jarzembski, Vandana Srivastava, and Ronald G. Pinnick
Appl. Opt. 29(15) 2303-2306 (1990)

Correlation among the laser-induced breakdown thresholds in solids, liquids, and gases

Jerry Ray Bettis
Appl. Opt. 31(18) 3448-3452 (1992)

Breakdown of dynamic balance of a particle in a quadrupole cell by laser-induced aerosol heating

M. Itoh, T. Iwamoto, K. Takahashi, and S. Kuno
Appl. Opt. 31(24) 5102-5105 (1992)