Characterization of Exploding Film Plasmas Using Emission Spectroscopy

Exploding films have a variety of potential applications including current interrupters, ignition of energetic materials, and sources of intense light. However, characterization of these events remains a challenge as the average duration of an event is only on the order of 100 mus in our studies. An effort to obtain a complete understanding of the exploding film and plasma generation phenomena is underway. This paper investigates the spectral and electrical output of exploding film events on metallized polypropylene film samples. Assuming the plasma generated from the exploding film is a blackbody radiator, peak temperature can be estimated using trends of wavelength versus intensity. This data allows for a more accurate characterization of the plasma that results from the exploding films. A holistic understanding of the deterministic mechanisms of the plasma enables future controllability and tunability in exploding film applications.