Laser ablation—what is it?

© Fraunhofer ILT, Volker Lannert

When material is irradiated with pulsed laser radiation at a high power density, its molecular structure changes. The material evaporates. With ultrashort pulse lasers, this ablation—in other words, laser evaporation—can be carried out with virtually no effects of heat on the surrounding material. In some cases, the aim is that the material, which has been evaporated to plasma, forms a functional film on surfaces—this is known as laser deposition.