Hydrodynamic simulation of the ablation of metals by femtosecond laser pulses

In the range of intensity 10 13 -10 14 W/cm 2 , material processing with ultrashort laser pulses is characterized by the absence of a plasma shielding effect and a small heat affected zone. The understanding of sub-picosecond laser pulse effects involves detailed study of laser-solid interaction processes. The dependence on fluence and pulse duration of the ablation rate can be studied experimentally. To analyse the laser-metal ablation mechanisms, we have inserted an electron-ion decoupling into a hydrodynamic code. The hydrodynamic simulations reveal many details of the processes yielding ablation.