Modelling of surface evaporation by laser ablation

This paper presents some preliminary results on simulations of the absorption of high fluence laser radiation by a target surface. We show the role of absorbing defects and their concentration as well as the influence on target roughness of places that absorb radiation more strongly than others. We then develop a mesoscopic model, and find that the grain boundary width (including any atmosphere of defects or space charge region) is an important parameter.