Pulsed Laser Ablation in High-Pressure Gases, Pressurized Liquids and Supercritical Fluids: Generation, Fundamental Characteristics and Applications

Abstract

Pulsed laser ablation (PLA) in high-density media—high-pressure gases, liquids, and supercritical fluids—has shown to be promising for nanomaterials fabrication and as an analysis technique in extreme environments, for example, the exploration of deep ocean levels and planetary atmospheres and surfaces. Despite the high potential of this technique, it is still not very widely used. The objective of the present chapter is to present the reader with an overview of recent advances in the use of pulsed laser ablation in pressurized media, the fundamental characteristics, especially the dynamics of cavitation bubbles and the optical emission, and the applications to the fabrication of metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles, and diamond molecules, the so-called diamondoids. Finally, a short overview of the use of pulsed laser ablation in pressurized media as a promising tool for the analysis of extreme environments is presented.