Measurement and analysis of OH emission spectra following laser-induced optical breakdown in air.

The measured emission spectra of the OH radical subsequent to laser-induced optical breakdown in air are analyzed to infer spectroscopic temperature and species number density. Emissions from the UV A2sigma+ --> X2IIi transition dominate the spectra in the wavelength range of 306-322 nm and for time delays from the optical breakdown of 30-300 micros. Contributions from other species to the recorded OH emission spectra were also investigated for spectroscopic temperature measurements in the range of 2000-6000 K and for OH number densities in the range of 10(14) - 2 x 10(16) cm(-3). Monte Carlo simulations are applied to estimate errors in the analysis of the hydroxyl spectra.