Temporal, spectral, and energy characteristics of acoustic pulses from laser breakdown on a solid aerosol particle

Abstract

Results of investigations of the temporal, spectral, and energetic characteristics of acoustic pulses from laser breakdown on a solid aerosol particle are systematized. It is shown that the acoustic pulse has the form of a shock N-wave, the amplitude of the negative half-period of which decreases with increasing solid aerosol particle size, and the acoustic pulse duration at half maximum of the negative (rarefaction) half-period increases compared to the positive (compression) half-period. When the laser energy density Q_L exceeds 10 J/cm², the acoustic energy W_ac increases exponentially with Q_L. The rate of increase of W_ac slows down due to the threshold character of laser breakdown initiation.