Torr-level, seedless, non-resonant velocity distribution function measurement with a dual-color, single-shot coherent Rayleigh–Brillouin scattering scheme

Abstract

A two order of magnitude spectral acquisition improvement in velocity distribution function (VDF) measurement is demonstrated with a novel single-shot, dual-color coherent Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering (CRBS) scheme. By performing this non-resonant and seedless spectral diagnostic technique, capable of obtaining a spectrum in ~300 ns, we demonstrate accurate temperature (ranging from 300 K to 500 K) and pressure (ranging from 760 Torr down to 1 Torr) measurement capabilities, for a variety of atomic, molecular and multispecies gases. This demonstrated gas thermodynamic characterization capability of the dual-color CRBS scheme over broad ranges of pressure and temperature for a variety of gases is anticipated to be of great interest to a plethora of fields, ranging from aerospace applications to low-temperature plasmas, providing with an accurate measurement of physical properties of neutral particles, for a range of gases.