Drop Shaping by Laser-Pulse Impact

Abstract

We show how the deposition of laser energy induces propulsion and strong deformation of an absorbing liquid body. Combining high speed with stroboscopic imaging, we observe that a millimeter-sized dyed water drop hit by a millijoule nanosecond laser pulse propels forward at several meters per second and deforms until it eventually fragments. The drop motion results from the recoil momentum imparted at the drop surface by water vaporization. We measure the propulsion speed and the time-deformation law of the drop, complemented by boundary-integral simulations. The drop propulsion and shaping are explained in terms of the laser-pulse energy, the drop size, and the liquid properties. These findings are, for instance, crucial for the generation of extreme ultraviolet light in nanolithography machines.

Submitted as research article to Physical Review Applied, 6 pages with 6 figures

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Cited by in corpus (11)

• Plasma Propulsion of a Metallic Micro-droplet and its Deformation upon Laser Impact
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• Expansion and fragmentation of liquid metal droplet by a short laser pulse
• Expansion Dynamics After Laser-Induced Cavitation in Liquid Tin Microdroplets
• Droplet deformation by short laser-induced pressure pulses
• Phenomenology of disruptive breakup mechanism of a levitated evaporating emulsion droplet
• Atomization modes for levitating emulsified droplets undergoing phase change
• Laser impact on a drop
• Apparatus to control and visualize the impact of a high-energy laser pulse on a liquid target
• Towards an optofluidic pump?
• Liquid tin droplet fragmentation by ultra-short laser pulse