Experimental study of wavelength dependences of laser-plasma coupling, transport, and ablation processes

Abstract

Experimental studies of the wavelength dependence of the following laser-plasma coupling processes were performed: (1) laser-light absorption, (2) energy transport, and (3) ablation and target-acceleration behavior. At a fixed intensity around ${10}^{14}$ W/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, the ablation process was dominated by heat transport by cold electrons for 0.53-and 1.06-\ensuremath{\mu} m lasers and by hot electrons for a 10.6-\ensuremath{\mu} m laser.