Anions in laser-induced plasmas

The equation of state for plasmas containing negative atomic and molecular ions (anions) is modeled. The model is based on the assumption that all ionization processes and chemical reactions are at local thermal equilibrium and the Coulomb interaction in the plasma is described by the Debye-Huckel theory. In particular, the equation of state is obtained for plasmas containing the elements Ca, Cl, C, Si, N, and Ar. The equilibrium reaction constants are calculated using the latest experimental and ab initio data of spectroscopic constants for the molecules CaCl2, CaCl, Cl-2, N-2, C-2, Si-2, CN, SiN, SiC, and their positive and negative ions. The model is applied to laser-induced plasmas (LIPs) by including the equation of state into a fluid dynamic numerical model based on the Navier-Stokes equations describing an expansion of LIP plumes into an ambient gas as a reactive viscous flow with radiative losses. In particular, the formation of anions Cl-, C-, Si-, Cl-2(-), Si-2(-), C-2(-), CN-, SiC-, and SiN- in LIPs is investigated in detail.