Effect of picosecond laser induced cavitation bubbles generated on Au targets in a nanoparticle production set-up

This work is aimed at an analysis of the influence on the efficiency of nanoparticle production of a cavitation bubble (CB), which forms during the laser ablation process in high-fluence regime. The CB is produced on an Au metal target immersed in water by 1064 nm ps Nd:YAG laser pulses at different fluences. Its time-space evolution is monitored by a shadowgraphic set-up, while the Au nanoparticles production rate is tagged by the growth of the plasmon resonance, which is detected by measuring shot-by-shot the UV-Vis absorbance. We analyze the dependence of bubble size on the experimental parameters. Our results appear of interest to enhance the nanoparticle production efficiency in a liquid medium.