Tailored Ultrafast Pulses for Selective Energetic Residue Sampling
Abstract
Femtosecond pulses offer several advantages over more conventional nanosecond pulses for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy applications. These advantages include improved ablation, lower breakdown threshold, more efficient energy deposition, and less thermal damage to surrounding areas. The scope of this work is to determine if femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy offers advantages for detecting trace explosive residues. Also, additional laser pulses, focused and nonfocused, were used to enhance the emission signal. It was determined that the lower breakdown threshold was the most important characteristic of the femtosecond pulse for, explosive residue detection. Enhancement of the plasma becomes more critical if lower-energy pulses are used since emission intensity is sacrificed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA482422
Entities
People
- Frank De Lucia Jr.
- Jennifer Gottfreid
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory