Comparison of nanosecond laser ablation at 1064 and 308 nm wavelength

To study the solid Cu ablation in vacuum, two different laser sources operating at 1064 and 308 nm wavelength are employed at similar values of laser fluences. The infrared laser is a Q-switched Nd:Yag having 9 ns pulse width (INFN-LNS, Catania), while the ultraviolet one is a XeCl excimer having 20 ns pulse width (INFN-LEA, Lecce). Both experiments produced a narrow angular distribution of the ejected material along the normal to the target surface. The ablation showed a threshold laser power density, of about 7 and 3 J/cm² at 1064 and 308 nm, respectively, below which the ablation effect was negligible. The laser interaction produces a plasma at the target surface, which expands very fast in the vacuum chamber. Time-of-flight (TOF) measurements of the ion emission indicated an average ion velocity of the order of 4.7×10⁴ and 2.3×10⁴ m/s for the infrared and ultraviolet radiation, respectively. We also estimated approximately the corresponding temperature of the plasma from which ions originated, i.e. about 10⁶ and 10⁵ K for IR and UV wavelength, respectively. A discussion of the analysis of the ablation mechanism is presented. At the used laser power densities the produced Cu ions showed ionisation states between 1+ and 5+ in both cases.