Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 50, 11003 (2010)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2010029

Electron number density and temperature measurements in laser produced brass plasma

¹ Spectroscopy Department, Physics Division, National Research Center, El Behooth Str., 12622 Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
² Faculty of Science, Taif University, 21974 Taif, P.O. Box, 888, Saudi Arabia
³ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ismailia, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Corresponding author: shaltout_a@hotmail.com

Received: 14 December 2009
Accepted: 25 January 2010
Published online: 26 February 2010

Abstract

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used for brass plasma diagnostic using a Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm. Optimal experimental conditions were evaluated, including repetition rate, number of laser shots on sample, and laser energy. The plasma temperatures and the electron number densities were determined from the emission spectra of LIBS. Cu and Zn spectral lines were used for excitation temperature calculation using Saha-Boltzmann distribution as well as line pair ratio. It was found that, the excitation temperature calculated by using Saha-Boltzmann distribution and line pair ratio methods are not the same. The electron number density has been evaluated from the Stark broadening of H_α transition at 656.27 nm and the calculated electron number density is agreement with literature.