Characterization of pulsed laser generated plasma through its perturbation in an electric field

The perturbation produced by pulsed laser generated discharge in an electric field is studied as a tool for breakdown characterization. A focused high-power pulsed laser induces a discharge in air or in a solid target, that is placed between the plates of a planar charged capacitor. The induced discharge generates a temporal redistribution of the electrical charges on the plates that can be easily measured by a resistor connected to the ground plate. This signal depends on the energy used to generate the breakdown, the capacitor applied voltage, and the distance between the plates. In this work, we show that this signal can be readily used to optimize the relevant parameters involved in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy in gases and in solid targets.