Optimized energy coupling at ultrafast laser-irradiated metal surfaces by tailoring intensity envelopes: Consequences for material removal from Al samples

We present results describing the efficiency of energy coupling in laser-irradiated metallic surfaces by ultrashort laser pulses with different intensity envelopes. Subsequently, we discuss probable thermodynamic paths for material ejection under the laser action. Ion and neutral emission from the excited sample is used as a sensitive method to probe the efficiency of energy deposition in the material. With support from numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic advance of the excited matter, consequences of optimized energy coupling relevant for applications in material processing are revealed. Despite the reduced sensitivity to intensity-dependent effects for linear materials, the overall absorption efficiency can be elevated if the proper conditions of density and temperature are met for the expanding material layers. In this respect, short sub-ps single pulse irradiation is compared with picosecond sequences. We show that in particular irradiation regimes, characterized by fluences superior to the material removal threshold, laser energy delivery extending on several picoseconds leads to significant superheating of the superficial layers as compared to femtosecond irradiation and to a swift acceleration of the emitted particles. Subsequently, the lifetime of the post-irradiation liquid layer is diminished, which, in turn, translates into a reduction in droplet ejection. In contrast, short pulse irradiation at moderate fluences generates a higher quantity of removed material that is ejected in a dense mixture of gas and liquid-phase particulates.