Characterization of LaMnO3 laser ablation in oxygen by ion probe and optical emission spectroscopy

Combined measurements of ion probe and optical emission spectroscopy have been employed to investigate the propagation of LaMnO3 ablation plasma in oxygen background gas. The expansion dynamics as a function of the background pressure shows a transition from a free-plume, at low pressures, to a shock-wave-like expansion, at larger pressures. Plume splitting is observed in a pressure range which depends on the distance from the target surface. The distance-related pressure dependencies for the different expansion regimes have been rationalized in the frame of a simple model of plume propagation into the background gas.