Visible and infrared radiation emitted by laser plasma microformations

An experimental investigation was made of the structure and radiative characteristics of laser plasma microformations near Al, In, and Cd targets at atmospheric air pressure and laser radiation power densities up to 12 GW cm^-2 (λ= 1.06 μm). A linear relationship was found between the spectral density of the plasma radiation and the power density of the incident laser radiation. The spectral density of plasma radiation and its distribution in the spectral interval 0.3–10 μm were determined. The efficiency of the conversion of the laser radiation into the radiation emitted by the cadmium target plasma was found to increase by a large factor in the spectral interval 2–4 μm.