Fundamental characteristics of laser-material interactions (ablation) in noble gases at atmospheric pressure using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy

Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) is used to study fundamental behavior underlying the explosive removal of solid material by high power pulsed laser irradiation. The influence of power density (irradiance) and carrier gas environment on the mass ablation rate behavior is discussed. Data are presented for nanosecond and picosecond laser ablation of metals.