Three-dimensional DSMC simulations of plasma plume expansion under directional background gas

Abstract

Expansion of a copper laser-produced plasma (LPP) under directional argon background gas flow was investigated using three-dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo simulations. The inlet size for the background gas influenced the plume expansion. Larger inlet sizes decreased the forward propagation of the copper plume and an increased drift in the direction of the gas flow. Asymmetry index also revealed that increased inlet size resulted in greater skewness of the plume density towards the direction of the background gas. These findings suggest that controlled directional background gas flow can be used to manipulate LPP expansion, which is relevant for thin film deposition applications.