The influence of the electron structure of atoms shells on characteristics of optical breakdown in metal vapour

By making use of the collision-radiative model that describes the phenomenon of optical breakdown in a metal vapour, the influence of the electron structure of atoms shells on the threshold intensity and breakdown period is analyzed. Two metals to be examined, aluminium and copper, are close in their thermo-physical properties but differ in the configuration of the electron shells of their atoms. General characteristics of optical breakdown, the influence of excitation energies of the neutral atom electron shells, as well as the ionisation potential, and the influence of higher excited states on threshold intensity and breakdown period are analyzed.