Mass-Ablation Rates in a Spherical Laser-Produced Plasma

Abstract

Measurements of the rate at which 1.05-\ensuremath{\mu}m light ablates material from spherical targets are reported for absorbed intensities between 4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{13}$ and 4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{14}$ W/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. At 4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{14}$, the ablation rate is twice as high as has been reported for planar targets. A steady-state model which includes inhibited thermal transport matches the data well.