Abstract
A Q-switched Nd: YAG laser (8 ns, 53 mJ) was focused on copper near the edge of the target at 2Torr air pressure in order to observe bending in the laser plasma. It was shown that the bending of thesecondary plasma edge extended into the shaded area, with the plasma emission front moving at a speed comparable to the emission front speed in the forward direction, confirming the role of the shock wave in the generation of the secondary plasma. This conclusion was also corroborated by a similar experiment on the bendingof the shock wave induced by the laser bombardment at 1 atm.
