Laser-induced spark ignition fundamental and applications

Laser ignition has become an active research topic in recent years because it has the potential to replace the conventional electric spark plugs in engines that are required to operate under much higher compression ratios, faster compression rates, and much leaner fuel-to-air ratios than gas engines today. It is anticipated that the igniter in these engines will face with pressures as high as 50 MPa and temperatures as high as 4000 K. Using the conventional ignition system, the required voltage and energy must be greatly increased (voltages in excess of 40 kV) to reliably ignite the air and fuel mixture under these conditions. Increasing the voltage and energy does not always improve ignitability but it does create greater reliability problem. The objective of this paper is to review past work to identify some fundamental issues underlying the physics of the laser spark ignition process and research needs in order to bring the laser ignition concept into the realm of reality.