Laser Induced Breakdown and Bubble Cavitation

This work presents the results of an experimental investigation of laser induced cavitation. We find that the breakdown plasma can be randomly split in different branches depending on the laser energy and on the focusing angle. This behavior strongly affects the successive dynamics of the bubble and limits the reproducibility of the process. Using a custom fiber optic hydrophone, we correlate the elongated shape of the plasma with the number of shock waves detected at breakdown. The conditions for single breakdown shockwave emission and spherical expansion are thus identified, thus improving the reproducibility of the laser-induced cavitation bubble.