First Experimental Proof of

Raizer–Zeldovich Theorem
(or RZ-Theory)

SID SENADHEERA
Mechanical Engineering Department
Ryerson University

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Different methods of producing nanofibers

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Experimental Setup

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Computer simulation
of heat dissipation in
laser ablation

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* Initially, the vapor expansion proceeds along the Poisson
adiabat with : PVγ = const.

P-V diagram with the Causius-Clapeyron equation

*The Poisson adiabat crosses the saturation adiabat

defined by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.

* The corresponding critical temperature is defined as Tc

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According to RZ-theory the following equation can be written

Condensation rate : dx/dt

Nucleation rate : dν/dt
Atomic clustering rate : dg/dt
x(t) = ν(t).g(t)

Nucleation rate can be expanded as :

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*The sharp increment in nucleation occurs at phase transformation

*The time component for Graphite and Silicon can be theoretically

graphed as below to estimate the times for phase transformations.

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The first theoretical analysis of condensation dynamics in a rapidly expanding vapor was performed by
Raizer et al. in 1958. Anisimov et al. did the next detailed study on the theory with the results below.

(a) Temperature Variations

(d) Nucleation rate is ν(t)

(b) Supercooling Parameter

(e) Cluster dimension variation

(c) Vapor condensation x(t)

(f) Atomic clustering g(t)

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EXPERIMENTAL PROOF OF R-Z THEORY
INTRODUCTION TO FEMTOSECOND LASER PULSES

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 Graphite Silicon

* Crystallization and formation of fibers start at a lower pulse

frequency for Graphite crystals (less than 1 MHz) and for Silicon (~2MHz)

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 Silicon Graphite

Starts nucleation at 2 MHz Starts nucleation at 1 MHz

Interpulse time unit ~ 0.5 μs Interpulse time unit ~ 1 μs

*Theoretical estimates
(below graph) are in
close agreement with
the experimental values
(above).

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 R(t) ~ (Eo/ro)1/5 t2/5
R

Supernova expansion

H-Bomb testing 20
Video clip – Please click on picture below

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References
[1] K. Venkatakrishnan and B. Tan, “Synthesis of fibrous nano-
Structures using ultrafast laser ablation under ambient condition
and at mega hertz pulse frequency,” Optics Express. Jan.(2009)
[2] B. N. Chichkov, C. Momma, S. Nolte, F. von Alvensleben, and
A. T¨unnermann, “Femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond
laser ablation of solids,” Applied Physics A, vol. 63, no. 2, pp.
109–115, 1996.
[3] R. Hergenr¨oder, “A model for the generation of small particles
in laser ablation ICP-MS,” Journal of Analytical Atomic
Spectrometry, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 1016–1026, 2006.
[4] B. Rethfeld, V. V. Temnov, K. Sokolowski-Tinten, S. I.
Anisimov, and D. von der Linde, “Dynamics of ultrashort pulselaser
ablation: equation-of-state considerations,” in High-Power
Laser Ablation IV, vol. 4760 of Proceedings of SPIE, pp. 72–80,
Taos, NM, USA, April 2002.
[5] A. Dalis and S. K. Friedlander, “Molecular dynamics simulations
of the straining of nanoparticle chain aggregates: the case
of copper,” Nanotechnology, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. S626–S631, 2005.
[6] S. I. Anisimov and B. S. Luk’yanchuk, “Selected problems of
laser ablation theory,” Physics-Uspekhi, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 293–
324, 2002.
[7] S. I. Anisimov, N. A. Inogamov, A. M. Oparin, et al., “Pulsed
laser evaporation: equation-of-state effects,” Applied Physics A,
vol. 69, no. 6, pp. 617–620, 1999.
[8] B. S. Luk’yanchuk, W. Marine, S. I. Anisimov, and G. A.
Simakina, “Condensation of vapor and nanoclusters formation
within the vapor plume produced by nanosecond laser ablation
of Si, Ge and C,” Proc.SPIE, vol. 3618, pp. 434–452, 1999.
[9] L. J. Radziemski, R. W. Solarz, and J. A. Paisner, Laser
Spectroscopy and Its Applications, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL,
USA, 1987.
 Yakov B. Zeldovich (left), Andrei Sakharov (middle),
and David A. Frank-Kamenetskii in Sarov, 1950s

-Russian Academy of Sciences 23