Stoichiometric investigations of laser-ablated brass plasma

Laser-ablated brass plasma plumes expanding in various air pressures have been studied using optical emission spectroscopy and two-dimensional imaging. The velocity of the plume front calculated from the R-t plot decreases from 1.9 x 10(4) m/s to similar to 5.5 x 10(3) m/s as the pressure increases from 0.01 to 10(5) Pa. The estimated higher electron temperature for Cu I (510.5 nm) transition than for Zn I (481.1 nm) may be due to differences in the heat of vaporization and vaporization temperature of copper and zinc. The electron density estimated using the Stark-broadened transition 4p(2)P(3/2) -> 4s(22)D(5/2) of Cu I (510.5 nm) is about 10 times higher than that for transition 4s5s(3)S(1) -> 4s4p(3)P(2) of Zn I (481.1 nm). The appearance and enhancement of the Cu-2 (A-X) band at lower ambient pressure and formation of nanoparticle clusters have been extensively discussed. Stoichiometric and morphological study of the deposited nanoparticles on carbon tape at different ambient pressure reveals a different percentage composition of copper and of nanoparticles. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America