Measurements of Plasma Electron Temperature Utilizing Magnesium Lines Appeared in Laser Produced Aluminum Plasma in Air

We have utilized the relative intensity of magnesium lines originated from the Mg I at 285.2 nm and Mg II at 280.27, 279.55 nm to measure the plasma electron temperature. The plasma was produced via interaction of Nd:YAG laser with solid aluminum target contains traces of magnesium. The magnesium lines were found to suffer from optical thickness which manifests itself on the form of scattered points around the Saha-Boltzmann line. We have utilized a simple method used for rapid calculation to the amount of absorption to these lines via comparison of the electron densities as deduced from magnesium lines to that evaluated from the optically thin hydrogen Hα line at 656.27 nm appeared in the same spectra under the same condition. A correction to the magnesium spectral lines intensities was carried out; hence the corrected temperatures were re-evaluated. The measurements were repeated at different delay times ranging from 1 to 5 μsec. This work emphasizes on the importance of correcting the emitted spectral line intensity against the effect of self absorption before using them in the calculation of plasma electron temperature in laser induced breakdown spec-troscopy (LIBS) experiments