Numerical modeling of pulsed laser ablation processes in ns and fs regime

We simulate laser ablation process of different metals in both ns and fs regime. Finite element method was implemented to numerically solve the thermal equations. Ablation has been modelled as a normal downwards mesh velocity. Ablation curves have been obtained for metals such as Ag, Cu and Al and oxides such as CuO; in ns regime we have also simulated multipulse operation. For ultrashort fs pulses, the Two-Temperature Model (TTM) needed to be applied. Improvements were made in an important thermal parameter of the TTM, the electron heat capacity, by solving the exact equations which give this parameter within the Free Electron Gas (FEG) model framework.