Evaluation of Generati ng Conditions and Chara cteristics of Argon Laser Sustained Pla sma U sing Fiber Laser

Abstract

In this study we investigated the minimum f iber laser power to generate argon las er sustained plasma (LSP), fractional absorption temperature, and length of LSP at various gas pressures and F numbers The minimum laser power was decreased with increase d gas pressure from 0.75 MPa to 1.0 MPa and F number from F 5 to F 10. At 1 0 MPa , with F 10 , the minimum laser power was approximately 460 W. The fractional absorption of the LSP estimated from the transmitted laser power increased from 12% to 40% with gas pressure whereas it has a maxi mum at F12.5 The measured temperatures using emission spectroscopy were 1 1 9 00 to 15,700 K which has little dependency on the variation of F number. The temperature decreased slightly with increased gas pressure The length of LSP increased with gas pressure . At 0.75 MPa and 0.8 MPa the length was maximu m at F12.5.