Spectroscopic determination of mass ablation rate in laser produced plasmas

The measurements of mass ablation rate and ablation thickness in laser produced plasmas from layered targets using a luminosity time of flight spectrometer are reported. The results show a steady state ablation in the laser intensity range of 1011–5×1012 W/cm2 of a Nd:glass laser. A mass ablation rate of 2×104 g/cm2/sec is observed for aluminum plasma at the laser intensity of 5×1011 W/cm2 which is consistent with the estimate obtained using a self-regulating model for plasma heating. This technique offers a simple and direct method for measuring the ablation parameters.