Using Atomic Emission Spectroscopy To Measure Atomic Ejecta in Laser Ablation Experiments

Dynamic compression experiments impart significant energy into the sample. At necessary and sufficient conditions, a sample can eject highly energized atoms. In these gas gun or laser driven experiments, the presence of excited atoms is often not measured. An experimental technique call Atomic Ejecta Source Optical Probe (AESOP) diagnostic was recently developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Special Technology Laboratory to measure and quantify atomic ejecta in these experimental environments.



We employed AESOP to measure Ce vapor produced from a laser ablation source within an Argon background. We compare our results to previously published AESOP measurements of Ga vapor in a Helium background gas. In these experiments, we explored the boundary conditions of the experiments including vacuum pressure, output strength of ablation laser, phase-modulation frequency and power, and wavelength of the excitation laser. These results will inform conditions for future AESOP measurements on gas-gun or laser driven platforms.