Nanosecond-to-femtosecond laser-induced breakdown in dielectrics
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-493, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
We report extensive laser-induced damage threshold measurements on dielectric materials at wavelengths of 1053 and 526 nm for pulse durations {tau} ranging from 140 fs to 1 ns. Qualitative differences in the morphology of damage and a departure from the diffusion-dominated {tau}{sup 1/2} scaling of the damage fluence indicate that damage occurs from ablation for {tau}{le}10 ps and from conventional melting, boiling, and fracture for {tau}{approx_gt}50 ps. We find a decreasing threshold fluence associated with a gradual transition from the long-pulse, thermally dominated regime to an ablative regime dominated by collisional and multiphoton ionization, and plasma formation. A theoretical model based on electron production via multiphoton ionization, Joule heating, and collisional (avalanche) ionization is in quantitative agreement with the experimental results.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 278537
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 53, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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