Ion time-of-flight study of laser ablation of silver in low pressure gases

The dynamics of ions from a laser-ablated silver target in low pressure background atmospheres have been investigated in a simple geometry using an electrical probe. A simple scattering picture for the first transmitted peak of the observed plume splitting has been used to calculate cross sections of the ablated silver ions in oxygen (sigma{O(2)} = 4.8 x 10(-16) cm(2)) and in argon (sigma{Ar} = 6.7 x 10(-16) cm(2)). The dynamics of the blast wave is well described by blast wave theory. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.