Interferometric diagnostic suite for ultrafast laser ablation of metals

We report on the development of a suite of novel techniques to measure important characteristics in intense ultrashort laser solid target experiments such as critical surface displacement, ablation depth, and plasma characteristics. Measurement of these important characteristics on an ultrafast (∼50 fs) time scale is important in understanding the primary event mechanisms in laser ablation of metal targets. Unlike traditional methods that infer these characteristics from spectral power shifts, phase shifts in frequency domain interferometry (FDI) or laser breakthrough studies of multiple shots on bulk materials, these techniques directly measure these characteristics from a single ultrafast heating pulse. These techniques are based on absolute displacement interferometry and nanotopographic applications of wavefront sensors. By applying all these femtosecond time-resolved techniques to a range of materials (Al, Au, and Au on plastic) over a range of pulse energies (10 ¹¹ to 10 ¹⁶ W/cm ²) and pulse durations (50 to 700 fs), greater insight into the ablation mechanism and its pulse parameter dependencies can be determined. Comparison of these results with hydrocode software programs also reveals the applicability of hydrocode models.