Electric-field induced fluctuations in laser generated plasma plume

The effect of an external electric field on laser-generated plasma has been studied. It is observed that the laser-generated plasma can be used for the ignition of a spark in the presence of a low voltage external electric field. An eight-fold emission intensity enhancement in Cu I spectral lines are measured as compared to the signal intensity in the absence of an external electric field. The plasma parameters remain the same initially, up to a few microseconds after the generation of plasma, and this feature makes it more interesting for the quantitative analysis of any sample using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). In the presence of an external electric field, fluctuations (contraction and expansion) in the laser-generated plasma are observed which increase the plasma decay time and consequently result in enhanced signal intensity.