Simulation of femtosecond laser ablation and spallation of titanium film based on two-temperature model and molecular dynamics

In order to study the interaction between a femtosecond laser and a titanium film, the method of combining the two-temperature model and molecular dynamics was used to simulate the ablation and spallation of the titanium film by the femtosecond laser with a wavelength of 800 nm. The spallation of the titanium film was explained from the perspective of the temperature and the stress wave. It is found that the femtosecond laser with a pulse width of 300 fs loads the titanium film, and the ablation threshold is around 0.05 J/cm2. The effects of different pulse widths in the range of 100–500 fs and different energy densities in the range of 0.10–0.20 J/cm2 on the spallation results of titanium films were also studied. We found that the femtosecond laser with a pulse width of 100 fs promotes the spallation phenomenon to occur more quickly. The surface spallation products of the titanium film were large clusters of atoms when the energy density is 0.10 J/cm2, but most of the surface spallation products of the titanium film were single atoms when the energy density is 0.20 J/cm2. These indicated that the energy density is an important factor affecting the spallation products of the titanium film. The evolution of maximum electron temperature, electron-lattice equilibrium temperature, and coupling time with pulse width and energy density are also given and analyzed. These results have important reference significance for studying the fracture and damage of titanium, and they help us to understand the mechanism of femtosecond laser processing materials.