Study on the Effect of Q-Switched Nd:Yag Laser Interaction with Al in Variable Magnetic Field

Dynamic and confinement of laser generated Aluminum plasma plumes expanding across a variable magnetic field have been investigated. A Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser with 1064 nm and 8 ns pulse width was used to generate plasma that was allowed to expand across 0.1 - 0.8 T magnetic field. The expansion of laser- produced plasma is characterized using constant laser power and in variable magnetic field. A Pulnix CCD video camera was used to visualize and record the activities in the focal region. The horizontal and vertical expansions of plasma plume were measured by using Matrox Inspector 2.1 software. The results showed that the plasma is expanding vertically and horizontally with respect to the magnetic field. The Al plasma interaction produced spectrum in the range of UV to visible light.