A study of substrate temperature distribution during ultrashort laser ablation of bulk copper

With the aid of an infrared thermograph technique, we directly observed the temperature variation across a bulk copper specimen as it was being ablated by multiple femtosecond laser pulses. Combining the experimental results with simulations, we quantified the deposited thermal power into the copper specimen during the femtosecond laser ablation process. A substantial amount of thermal power (more than 50%) was deposited in the copper specimen, implying that thermal effect can be significant in femtosecond laser materials processing in spite of its ultrashort pulse duration.