Pulsed Laser Impact on Pure Aluminum

This article analyzes the influence of laser impact on the structure of a model material: pure aluminum. Laser treatment of aluminum specimens has been carried out using a Nd:YAG laser with the power of 15 J, ten pulses with the duration of 5 × 10–8 s. In order to eliminate the influence of the thermal mechanism and creation of conditions for shock wave impact on the material, a transparent medium has been used in the experiments. The structure has been analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Crystallographically oriented voids with transverse sizes of 50–100 nm and the length up to 500–800 nm have been formed in pure aluminum after the laser irradiation. The mechanism of such formations is discussed.