1D modelling of nanosecond laser ablation of copper samples in argon at P=1 atm with a wavelength of 532 nm

A one-dimensional model is developed for nanosecond laser ablation of a metal target (Cu) in a background gas (Ar) at any pressure. Simulations are performed with a 6 ns FWHM Gaussian laser pulse at 532 nm with a fluence of 11.3 J.cm(-2). Heating, melting, evaporation, and condensation are considered to model the laser-target interaction. Expansion of the plume is investigated solving the Euler equations in a lagrangian formalism. Plasma formation is taken into account by computing the ionic species densities up to the second order of ionization in both the ablated material and the background gas. Such formation implies a strong laser-plasma interaction, assuming that the absorption phenomena are photoionization, electron-atom, and electron-ion inverse Bremsstrahlung. Radiative losses are supposed to be only described by electron-ion Bremsstrahlung. Preliminary results are presented and discussed. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3651497]