SATURATION BROADENING OF LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE FROM PLASMA IONS

Saturation broadening is an obstacle in using laser-induced fluorescence as a plasma diagnostic. The Doppler-broadened line shape ideally yields the ion velocity distribution function, but at high laser power, saturation of the optical transition leads to additional undesirable line broadening. We test three different prescriptions for plasma experimentalists to avoid saturation broadening while maintaining a strong signal. Based on experiments in an argon plasma, and a semiclassical atomic physics simulation, we have identified the prescription that is the easiest to use and the least sensitive to the spatial profile of the laser beam. This procedure is to measure the laser intensity that leads to saturation on the peak of the spectral line, and then to reduce the intensity to 20% of the saturation level.