Effects of Plume Hydrodynamics and Oxidation on the Composition of a Condensing Laser-Induced Plasma.

High-temperature chemistry in laser ablation plumes leads to vapor-phase speciation, which can induce chemical fractionation during condensation. Using emission spectroscopy acquired after ablation of a SrZrO target, we have experimentally observed the formation of multiple molecular species (ZrO and SrO) as a function of time as the laser ablation plume evolves. Although the stable oxides SrO and ZrO are both refractory, we observed emission from the ZrO intermediate at earlier times than SrO.