1-D imaging of rotation-vibration non-equilibrium from pure rotational ultrafast coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.

We present one-dimensional (1-D) imaging of rotation-vibration non-equilibrium measured by two-beam pure rotational hybrid femtosecond/picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs/ps CARS). Simultaneous measurements of the spatial distribution of molecular rotation-vibration non-equilibrium are critical for understanding molecular energy transfer in low temperature plasmas and hypersonic flows. However, non-equilibrium CARS thermometry until now was limited to point measurements. The red shift of rotational energy levels by vibrational excitation was used to determine the rotational and vibrational temperatures from 1-D images of the pure rotational spectrum. Vibrational temperatures up to 5500 K were detected in a CH4/N2 nanosecond-pulsed pin-to-pin plasma within 2 mm near the cathode. This approach enables study of non-equilibrium systems with 40 µm spatial resolution.

Electric field vector measurements via nanosecond electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation.

Electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation, or E-FISH, has received renewed interest as a nonintrusive tool for probing electric fields in gas discharges and plasmas using ultrashort laser pulses. An important contribution of this work lies in establishing that the E-FISH method works effectively in the nanosecond regime, yielding field sensitivities of about a kV/cm at atmospheric pressure from a 16 ns pulse. This is expected to broaden its applicability within the plasma community, given the wider access to conventional nanosecond laser sources. A Pockels-cell-based pulse-slicing scheme, which may be readily integrated with such nanosecond laser systems, is shown to be a complementary and cost-effective option for improving the time resolution of the electric field measurement. Using this scheme, a time resolution of ∼3 ns is achieved, without any detriment to the signal sensitivity. This could prove invaluable for nonequilibrium plasma applications, where time resolution of a few nanoseconds or less is often critical. Finally, we take advantage of the field vector sensitivity of the E-FISH signal to demonstrate simultaneous measurements of both the horizontal and vertical components of the electric field.

1D time evolving electric field profile measurements with sub-ns resolution using the E-FISH method.

We present an approach for the measurement of time evolving electric field profiles in atmospheric pressure plasma discharges using electric field induced second harmonic generation (E-FISH). While the E-FISH effect has been known of for some time, recent advances in laser and detection technology have allowed the method to be utilized for spatial measurements of an arbitrarily applied electric field. A cylindrical lens is used to focus the femtosecond laser light to a line and an intensified charge coupled device is used for detection, allowing for one-dimensional (1D) spatial resolution on the order of ∼50 µm. Measurements have been carried out verifying the spatial resolution using a spatially periodic, localized electric field. Calibrated 1D electric field measurements have been completed with a time resolution of 500 ps in a laminar cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet with argon core flow and N2 co-flow powered by a nanosecond (ns) pulse dielectric barrier discharge. The field was shown to propagate as an ionization wave, with a velocity of ∼0.3 mm/ns.