Laser generated plasmas characterized under magnetic field -: art. no. 044102

The confinement of laser generated plasmas by a magnetic field is exploited to analyze the properties of plasmas of different materials. The ablation threshold is approximately proportional to C-v(T-melt-300) (T-melt=melting temperature, C-v=specific heat). The ablation rate is related to the boiling enthalpy. From aluminum to molybdenum, the increase in the proportion of ions within the plume is discussed by considering the energy per atom available for plasma heating. While negligible in zero magnetic field, ion recombination effects are significant under field. This is attributed to the higher plasma density and to the decrease in the mean energy of the detected ions. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.