Filament-induced remote surface ablation for long range laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy operation

We demonstrate laser induced ablation and plasma line emission from a metallic target at distances up to 180 in from the laser, using filaments (self-guided propagation structures similar to 100 mu m in diameter and similar to 5 x 10(13) W/cm(2) in intensity) appearing as femtosecond and terawatt laser pulses propagating in air. The remarkable property of filaments to propagate over a long distance independently of the diffraction limit opens the frontier to long range operation of the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique. We call this special configuration of remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy "remote filament-induced breakdown spectroscopy". Our results show main features of filament-induced ablation on the surface of a metallic sample and associated plasma emission. Our experimental data allow us to estimate requirements for the detection system needed for kilometer-range remote filament- induced breakdown spectroscopy experiment. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.