Dependence of ablation parameters on the temperature and phase of ablated material

A simple theoretical model for simulating the interaction of a laser radiation with a material is presented. A heat conduction equation that includes the temperature and phase dependence of material is numerically solved for various pulse shapes of the incident radiation. Results show a marked difference in ablation characteristics like threshold energy, evaporation onset time, and shielding, etc., when the temperature and phase dependence of the material is included. The temperature and density profiles inside the target and ablated vapors are also generated. The model can be approximated to give results already reported in the literature. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.