Characterization of laser-induced plasmas associated with energetic laser cleaning of metal particles on fused silica surfaces.

Time-resolved plasma emission spectroscopy was used to characterize the energy coupling and temperature rise associated with single, 10-ns pulsed laser ablation of metallic particles bound to transparent substrates. Plasma associated with Fe(I) emission lines originating from steel microspheres was observed to cool from >24,000 to ~15,000 K over ~220 ns as τ(-0.28), consistent with radiative losses and adiabatic gas expansion of a relatively free plasma.