SILICON PLASMA HEATING IN AIR AT THE COMBINED BICHROMATIC LASER RADIATION AT WAVELENGTHS OF 355 and 532 nm

The formation and heating of laser plasma under the irradiation of silicon in ambient air by pulsed laser radiation with wavelengths of 355 and 532 nm at radiation power density up to 5 GW/cm2 has been experimentally investigated. An increased efficiency of the formation and heating of ablation plasma under bichromatic irradiation of silicon with advanced action of nanosecond pulses with a wavelength of 355 nm has been established.

Investigation of the laser-induced breakdown plasma, acoustic vibrations and dissociation processes of water molecules caused by laser breakdown of colloidal solutions containing Ni nanoparticles

In this work the process of optical breakdown under laser irradiation by nanosecond pulses with an energy of 650 mJ of aqueous solutions of Ni nanoparticles is investigated. A monotonic change in the number of breakdowns, the average distance between closest breakdowns, the average plasma size of an individual breakdown, the luminosity of a plasma flash, the intensity of acoustic signals, and the rate of formation of dissociation products - O2, H2, OH•, and H2O2 with an increase in the irradiation time was established. With an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles, the measured values change non-monotonically. The maximum luminosity of a plasma flash is observed at a nanoparticle concentration of 109 NP/ml and 1010 NP/ml and reaches 350 cd/m2. The maximum pressure at the shock front is 1.5–2 MPa at a nanoparticle concentration of 1010 NP/ml. The maximum rates of generation of O2, H2, OH• and H2O2 are observed at concentrations of 109 NP/ml and 1010 NP/ml. Correlation analysis of the studied physicochemical phenomena shows that the formation of molecular gases is associated with acoustic processes, and the formation of radical products and hydrogen peroxide correlates with the physicochemical properties of plasma.

Comparative study on high-voltage nanosecond pulses and dielectric barrier discharge effects on surface morphology and physico-chemical properties of natural pyrrhotite

In this paper we used analytical electron microscopy, potentiometric titration (electrode potential), sorption and flotation measurements and other methods to study changes in the surface morphology, electrochemical, and physicochemical properties of the natural pyrrhotite exposed to nonthermal action of the repetitive nanosecond high-power electromagnetic pulses and low-temperature plasma of dielectric barrier discharge in air at atmospheric pressure. As a result of exposure to high-voltage nanosecond pulses, a sharp shift in the electrode potential of pyrrhotite to the region of negative values caused a decrease in the sorption of the anionic collector on the mineral, a decrease in the hydrophobicity of the surface and flotation of the mineral was due to an increase in the content of oxidized ferric iron on the mineral surface. Dielectric barrier discharge treatment caused the shift of the electrode potential to the region of negative values (–60 mV) in the range of pH 9.7-12, which causes the effect of a decrease in the sorption and flotation activity of pyrrhotite. The advantages of using the short-term (10-30 seconds) energy impacts for structural and chemical modification of the surface and physicochemical properties of sulfide minerals of iron are shown.

Particularities of photonic and structural transformations in the polystyrene film during pulsed infrared laser irradiation

Two new kinds of the structural in-homogeneities in the polystyrene films were created by the irradiation of the film with nanosecond pulses of the infrared laser with 1064 nm wavelength. At the beginning of the irradiation dark micro-inclusions having unusual close to rectangular geometries appeared. After about 30 seconds of the irradiation one more kind structural distortions appeared having the geometries of the systems of the concentric micro-rings. Simultaneously with the creation of these concentric micro-rings the film started to emit bright blue luminescence all over its area and significant focusing of the laser beam during its propagation through the film was observed resulting in the generation of the bright white flashes at the screen installed behind the film. The creation of the dark rectangular spots as well as of the concentric micro-rings are ascribed to the non-linear interactions between the laser radiation and the structural distortions produced in the film due to photo-thermal processes excited in the film.

The generation of nanosecond pulses at C-band region with titanium dioxide as a saturable absorber

A passive mode-locked in an erbium-doped fiber laser with titanium dioxide (TiO2) film as a saturable absorber (SA) has been successfully demonstrated. The film is fabricated using a liquid phase exfoliation, which offers a simple and low-cost method. The self-starting mode-locked was created by inserting a 200-meter-long single-mode fiber into the laser cavity to balance the nonlinearity and dispersion of the cavity. The pulses operate stably at a central wavelength of 1560 nm. The pulse repetition rate was almost fixed at 988 kHz at a tuneable pump power from 145.83 mW to 187.04 mW. The repetition rate shows excellent stability with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 69 dB whilst the pulse width was virtually constant at 230 ns. The maximum output power was measured at 2.17 mW, eliciting maximum pulse energy of 2.19 nJ. This experiment demonstrates that stable mode-locked pulsed can be generated using TiO2-SA.

Electroporation safety factor of 300 nanosecond and 10 millisecond defibrillation in Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts

Aims Recently, a new defibrillation modality using nanosecond pulses was shown to be effective at much lower energies than conventional 10 millisecond monophasic shocks in ex vivo experiments. Here we compare the safety factors of 300 nanosecond and 10 millisecond shocks to assess the safety of nanosecond defibrillation. Methods and results The safety factor, i.e. the ratio of median effective doses (ED50) for electroporative damage and defibrillation, was assessed for nanosecond and conventional (millisecond) defibrillation shocks in Langendorff-perfused New Zealand white rabbit hearts. In order to allow for multiple shock applications in a single heart, a pair of needle electrodes was used to apply shocks of varying voltage. Propidium iodide (PI) staining at the surface of the heart showed that nanosecond shocks had a slightly lower safety factor (6.50) than millisecond shocks (8.69), p = 0.02; while PI staining cross-sections in the electrode plane showed no significant difference (5.38 for 300 ns shocks and 6.29 for 10 ms shocks, p = 0.22). Conclusions In Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts, nanosecond defibrillation has a similar safety factor as millisecond defibrillation, between 5 and 9, suggesting that nanosecond defibrillation can be performed safely.