Optical Characterization of Lithium Plasma Produced by Laser Irradiation

Abstract

Solid lithium deposited on stainless steel (SS) was irradiated by a Carbon dioxide laser at 10.6 micrometers and by a dye laser tuned to 666.4 nm and to the first resonance line of lithium, 670.8 nm. Type 316 SS surfaces were irradiated by a dye laser at 670.8 nm. Power densities ranged from <0.1-9.4 MW/ sq cm. Optical information from the lithium plasma produced was evaluated using Stark broadening analysis to determine the plasma density, which varied from approx. 2 x 10 to the sixteenth power/cc to over 10 to the seventeenth/cc. Lithium and SS surfaces were observed by an SEM before and after irradiation, and evidence of unipolar arcing was found on both surface types.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA176773

Entities

People

  • Bruce A. Hoselton

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemistry
  • Classification
  • Detectors
  • Dye Lasers
  • Electron Density
  • Electron Emission
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Electrons
  • Ion Sources
  • Ions
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Liquid Dye Lasers
  • Measurement
  • Scanning Electron Microscopes
  • Stainless Steel
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Directed Energy - Lasers