Laser-wavelength dependence of mass-ablation rate and heat-flux inhibition in laser-produced plasmas

Thin-foil experiments at 1.06, 0.53, and 0.26 ..mu..m have been realized in order to measure mass-ablation rate m/sup 0/ as a function of absorbed laser flux phi/sub a/ and laser wavelength lambda. The results can be put in the form m/sup 0/(kg/s cm/sup 2/)roughly-equal110 (phi/sub a/(W/cm/sup 2/)/10/sup 14/)/sup 1/3/ lambda/sup -4/3//sub mum/. Hydrodynamical simulations of these experiments show that heat-flux inhibition occurs at each wavelength, but the mechanisms are very different.