Multiscale electronic and thermomechanical dynamics in ultrafast nanoscale laser structuring of bulk fused silica

We describe the evolution of ultrafast-laser-excited bulk fused silica over the entire relaxation range in one-dimensional geometries fixed by non-diffractive beams. Irradiation drives local embedded modifications of the refractive index in the form of index increase in densified glass or in the form of nanoscale voids. A dual spectroscopic and imaging investigation procedure is proposed, coupling electronic excitation and thermodynamic relaxation. Specific sub-ps and ns plasma decay times are respectively correlated to these index-related electronic and thermomechanical transformations. For the void formation stages, based on time-resolved spectral imaging, we first observe a dense transient plasma phase that departs from the case of a rarefied gas, and we indicate achievable temperatures in the excited matter in the 4,000–5,500 K range, extending for tens of ns. High-resolution speckle-free microscopy is then used to image optical signatures associated to structural transformations until the evolution stops. Multiscale imaging indicates characteristic timescales for plasma decay, heat diffusion, and void cavitation, pointing out key mechanisms of material transformation on the nanoscale in a range of processing conditions. If glass densification is driven by sub-ps electronic decay, for nanoscale structuring we advocate the passage through a long-living dense ionized phase that decomposes on tens of ns, triggering cavitation.

Influence of Nitrogen Admixture on Plasma Characteristics in a dc Argon Glow Discharge and in Afterglow

The present paper is based on the materials of the Invited Lecture presented at 29th Summer School and International Symposium on the Physics of Ionized Gases (28 August 2018–1 September 2018, Belgrade, Serbia). In the paper, the effect of nitrogen admixture on various characteristics of a dc glow discharge in argon (the volt-ampere characteristic, rate of plasma decay in the afterglow, discharge constriction condition, and formation of a partially constricted discharge) is considered.