Pulsed laser ablation plasmas generated in CO2 under high-pressure conditions up to supercritical fluid

Pulsed laser ablation of solids in supercritical media has a large potential for nanomaterials fabrication. We investigated plasmas generated by pulsed laser ablation of Ni targets in CO2 at pressures ranging from 0.1 to 16 MPa at 304.5 K. Plasma species were characterized by optical emission spectroscopy, and the evolution of cavitation bubbles and shockwaves were observed by time-resolved shadowgraph imaging. Ni and O atomic emissions decreased with increasing gas pressure; however, near the critical point the intensities reached local maxima, probably due to the enhancement of the plasma excitation and effective quenching resulting from the large density fluctuation.