The physical mechanisms of short-pulse laser ablation

Time-resolved experiments demonstrate that the removal of material from the surface of metals and semiconductors following irradiation with pico- or femtosecond laser pulses occurs on a nanosecond time scale. It is shown that short-pulse laser ablation can be interpreted in terms of transient thermal processes involving states of matter with unusual thermodynamic, hydrodynamic and optical properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.