Laser produced plasmas in high fluence ablation of metallic surfaces probed by time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We report on TOF mass spectrometric analysis of plasmas produced by laser ablation on Al targets. We obtained mass spectra of ionized species in the UV (λ = 355 nm) and in the visible (λ = 532 nm) and at high laser fluences (1–80 J cm−2). The total ion yield, the relative abundance of different charged species and the laser fluence threshold for the appearance of specific ions as a function of energy density were measured.