Review of Laser-Induced Plasma, Its Mechanism, and Application to Quantitative Analysis of Hydrogen and Deuterium

A comprehensive review of important progress achieved over the last 30years regarding knowledge of laser-induced plasmas generated by CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers in a variety of ambient gases is presented in this article, as well as research results on the extension of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for quantitative analysis of light elements, especially hydrogen and deuterium. First, the formation of shock wave-induced expanding secondary plasma in low-pressure ambient gases is discussed along with the dynamic characteristics of the secondary plasma expansion process. The unique advantages of low-pressure gas plasma are explained in relation to the successful detection of the sharp H and D emission lines. The experimental results using helium ambient gas are presented with emphasis on the role of He gas plasma in introducing an additional delayed excitation mechanism involving the helium metastable excited state, which resulted in the complete resolution of H and D emission lines, separated by only 0.18nm. The development of a laser precleaning treatment and special double-pulse techniques further produced a linear calibration line with zero intercept applicable to quantitative H and D analyses of zircaloy sample, with either low- or high-pressure ambient He gas. More recent use of a transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser in place of an Nd:YAG laser has demonstrated the much desired larger excited helium plasma and thereby resulted in significant emission enhancement and improved detection sensitivity.