| Summary: | This article reports new measurements of laser-induced plasma hypersonic expansion measurements of diatomic molecular cyanide (CN). Focused, high-peak-power 1064 nm Q-switched radiation of the order of 1 TW/cm<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mn>2</mn> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> generated optical breakdown plasma in a cell containing a 1:1 molar gas mixture of N<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msub> <mrow></mrow> <mn>2</mn> </msub> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> and CO<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msub> <mrow></mrow> <mn>2</mn> </msub> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> at a fixed pressure of 1.1 × 10<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mn>5</mn> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> Pascal and in a 100 mL/min flow of the mixture. Line-of-sight (LOS) analysis of recorded molecular spectra indicated the outgoing shockwave at expansion speeds well in excess of Mach 5. Spectra of atomic carbon confirmed increased electron density near the shockwave, and, equally, molecular CN spectra revealed higher excitation temperature near the shockwave. Results were consistent with corresponding high-speed shadowgraphs obtained by visualization with an effective shutter speed of 5 nanoseconds. In addition, LOS analysis and the application of integral inversion techniques allow inferences about the spatiotemporal plasma distribution.
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