Product Code: ICA12_M1103

Analysis of Nanosecond Laser Ablation of Aluminum With and Without Phase Explosion in Air and Water
Authors:
Yunfeng Cao, Center for Laser-based Manufacturing, Purdue Univ.; West Lafayette IN USA
Xin Zhao, Center for Laser-based Manufacturing, Purdue Univ.; West Lafayette IN USA
Yung Shin, Center for Laser-based Manufacturing, Purdue Univ.; W. Lafayette IN USA
Presented at ICALEO 2012

During nanosecond laser ablation processes, the interaction between a high energy laser beam and the target material will lead to a strong ablation of the target and therefore the formation of a crater on the target surface. A lot of research work has been devoted to the investigation of the ablation behavior in the nanosecond laser ablation process, which may differ significantly depending on the laser parameters and target material characteristics. In this presentation, nanosecond laser ablation of several metal targets (aluminum, copper, gold, and titanium) in air is investigated through a self-contained hydrodynamic model under different laser fluences with and without phase explosion involved. The crater profiles and ablation depths are predicted and validated against the literature data and our own experiments. Nanosecond laser ablation of these metals in water is further studied. Enhanced apparent ablation rates are found in all the conditions studied in this work, which may be attributed to the combination effects of laser ablation and shock compression. The analysis of the shock compression in air and water indicates that the shock compression is mainly responsible for this enhancement of ablation in water.