Fraunhofer-type absorption lines in double-pulse laser-induced plasma

We studied the confocal double-pulse laser-induced plasma in the very beginning of its life. It was found that the second laser pulse fired 0.7 to 5 mu s after the first pulse produces plasma which, during the first 0 to 20 ns, resembles solar configuration. There is a very hot and compact plasma core that radiates a broad continuum spectrum and a much larger and cooler outer shell. The light from the hot core passes through the cold outer shell and is partly absorbed by atoms and ions that are in ground ( or close to ground) states. This produces absorption lines that are similar to Fraunhofer lines observed in the sun spectrum. The possibility to use these absorption lines for new direct and calibration free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analytical applications, both in laboratory and industrial conditions, is proved. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America