Angular distribution of ejected atoms from Nd:YAG laser irradiating metals

Abstract

A Nd:YAG pulsed laser is employed to irradiate different metals in vacuum at the ECLISSE facility of the Laboratorio Nazionale del Sud, Catania, INFN. Laser pulse energy, 9 ns in width, ranges between 100 and 900 mJ. The ejection of atoms by means of laser irradiation is studied in terms of angular distribution, laser etching yield and film thickness deposited on a substrate. Light elements (Ni, Cu) show an angular distribution that is larger than heavy ones (W, Pb). A theoretical approach, applied to fit experimental data, indicates that the distribution depends on the high power of cos θ and that the flow velocity of ejected atom ranges between 27 000 and 88 000 m/s and the kinetic energy of ejected species ranges between 0.7 and 4.4 keV.