CHEMOCOPTER – Airborne and remote laser sensing
The natural evolution of stand-off optical spectroscopies like Raman or LIBS points to the development of new spectrometers and technologies for airborne operation.
These instruments open new pathways in both the near-surface and the LOE domains reaching targets otherwise unthinkable for conventional spectrometers.
Laser ignition of energetic materials
Accurate doses of energetic materials in the form of microdroplets can be injected into the beam focus, resulting in complete ignition and energy conversion. A suite of optical diagnostics tools and spectroscopic measurements of the post-ignition particulate and radiant emission allows a precise assessment of the conversion and energy-transfer manifolds.
Multi-target pulsed laser deposition
Nanoparticle production through laser irradiation of a micro-target jet avoids the fluctuations and uncertainties related to ns-laser-ablation of solids. The injection of precursor droplets smaller than the laser beam waist at its focal point, results in a full and repetitive conversion of the laser energy. The precursor and solvent are fully atomized without debris to produce nanoparticles and nanofilaments during plasma cooling. More complex structures like nanolayers or nanofoams can be synthetised at kilohertz droplet dispensing rates as additional droplets in the vicinity of the target droplet are subjected to the laser-induced plasma and its associated shock wave. The use of a liquid precursor whose composition can be tailored opens a number of possibilities.
Dual-target PLD improves the performance and flexibility of solid-target PLD. The additional target not only brings additional control over the composition of the substrate but enhances the plasma conditions.
Plasma-assisted laser-induced nanopaterning
The interaction between a laser pulse and a laser-induced plasma is proposed as a very simple and potentially powerful method for surface nano-structuring. A laser pulse is focused onto a metallic target in order to generate a transient plasma which is used as a lens for a second laser pulse at 532 nm before hitting a silicon substrate. The plasma acts as a non-linear optical element for the second laser pulse, and its properties can be set through the energy density of the first pulse and the time delay to the second pulse.
Laser Spectroscopy and Sensing 