Percolation upon expansion of nanosecond-pulse-produced laser plasma into a gas

Spectral studies of a plasma expanding into the ambient gas upon ablation of various targets by nanosecond laser pulses of moderate intensities are performed. It is found that the dependences of the intensities of spectral lines on the pressure of the buffer gas and the target composition have a threshold character typical of percolation. It is ascertained that a three-dimensional percolation occurs in plasma, and its threshold is determined by the atomic density of the metal component contained in the target. It is shown that percolation clusters, existing at temperatures higher than the boiling temperature of the target material, affect the plasma absorption ability, temperature, and spectral continuum of plasma emission.