Time and space-resolved spectroscopic and imaging study of a laser-produced swine muscle tissue plasma

We investigated the optical emission and imaging features of plasmas produced by a high-power transversely excited atmospheric CO2 laser pulses on a swine muscle tissue sample in different vacuum conditions. The analyzed plasma shows electronically excited neutral Na, K, C, Mg, H, Ca, N, and O atoms, ionized C+, C2+, C3+, Mg+, Mg2+, N+, N2+, Ca+, O+, and O2+ species and molecular band systems of CN, C-2, CH, NH, OH and CaOH. Time-resolved 2D emission spectroscopy is employed to study the expanded distribution of several species ejected during ablation. The expansion of the plume front was analyzed using Shock wave and Drag models.