Laser-impact-induced splashing: an analysis of the splash crown evolution after Nd:YAG ns-pulse laser impact on a liquid tin pool

The splash created by intense laser pulse impact onto a liquid tin layer is studied experimentally using time-delayed stroboscopic shadowgraphy. An 8-ns infrared (1064 nm) laser pulse is focused onto a deep liquid tin pool. Various laser spot sizes (70, 120, and 130 μm in diameter) and various laser pulse energies (ranging 2.5–30 mJ) are used, resulting in laser fluences of ∼ 10–1000 J/cm2 inducing pronounced splashing. Specifically, we study the time evolution of the splash crown-width. The crown width expansion velocity is found to be linearly dependent on the laser energy, and independent of the focal spot size. A collapse of all crown width evolution data onto a single master curve confirms that the hydrodynamic evolution of our laser-impact-induced splash is equivalent to droplet-impact-induced splashing. Laser-impact splashing is particularly relevant, e.g. for high-brightness laser-assisted discharge-produced plasma and laser-produced plasma sources of extreme ultraviolet light for nanolithography.