Investigation of local thermodynamic equilibrium of laser induced Al2O3–TiC plasma in argon by spatially resolved optical emission spectroscopy

Abstract

Plasma plume of Al2O3–TiC is generated by third harmonic Q-switched Nd:YAG nanosecond laser. It is characterized using Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) at different argon background gas pressures 10, 102, 103, 104 and 105 Pa. Spatial evolution of excitation and ionic temperatures is deduced from spectral data analysis. Temporal evolution of Ti I emission originated from different energy states is probed. The correlation between the temporal behavior and the spatial temperature evolution are investigated under LTE condition for the possibility to use the temporal profile of Ti I emission as an indicator for LTE validity in the plasma.