Plume dynamics in femtosecond laser ablation of metals

In femtosecond laser ablation the plume has two components: a faster-moving plasma part and a slower nanoparticle plume which contains most of the ablated material. This paper describes the results of experiments to comprehensively characterize the plume in laser ablation of Ni with 300 fs pulses at 527 nm. Both single-pulse and double-pulse irradiation was used. The laser ablation depth was measured using white light interferometry. The dynamics of the plasma part of the ablation plume was measured using Langmuir ion probes. The shape of the overall ablation plume was recorded by depositing a thin film on a transparent substrate and measuring the thickness distribution. The expansion of the plasma plume is well described by the Anismov isentropic model of plume expansion. Just above the ablation threshold, the nanoparticle plume is also well described by the Anisimov expansion model. However, at higher fluence a wider plume is formed, perhaps due to the pressure exerted by plasma. For double-pulse ablation it is observed that as the second pulse is delayed beyond ≈20 ps the ablation depth is reduced and the ion yield is increased. This behaviour is due to reheating of the nascent plasma plume produced by the first pulse. This generates a pressure pulse that acts as a tamper which impedes the fragmentation and ablation of deeper layers of material.