Influence of a nanosecond pulsed laser on aluminium alloys: Distribution of oxygen

Nanosecond laser pulses may produce both thermal melting (as femtosecond and picosecond pulses) or ultrafast nonthermal melting depending on the pulse fluence. This was demonstrated experimentally by Sokolowski-Tinten et al. [1], who found that the transformation of GaAs into its liquid state occurs within several tens of picoseconds at fluences close to the melt threshold due to thermal melting under highly superheated conditions or within several hundred femtoseconds via carrier excitation for very high fluences. The processes occurring under high energetic fs pulse irradiation could be described more precisely with the help of the theoretical work of Stampfli et al. In this work, a nanosecond pulsed laser (Nd:Yag) is used to irradiate an aluminum alloy sample. The oxygen distribution is studied as a function of distance in order to get an idea about the temperature distribution.