Ablation of Cu and Al targets has been performed with 170 fs laser pulses in the intensity range of ${10}^{12}\text{–}{10}^{14}\mathrm{W}{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$. We compare the measured removal depth with 1D hydrodynamic simulations. The electron-ion temperature decoupling is taken into account using the standard two-temperature model. The influence of the early heat transfer by electronic thermal conduction on hydrodynamic material expansion and mechanical behavior is investigated. A good agreement between experimental and numerical matter ablation rates shows the importance of including solid-to-vapor evolution of the metal in the current modeling of the laser matter interaction.

• Received 17 December 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.71.165406