Theory and Simulation of Laser Ablation – from Basic Mechanisms to Applications

Abstract

Numerical simulations have provided significant insights into the physics of ablation. In this chapter, we briefly review the progresses that we have accomplished using a simple two-dimensional molecular-dynamics (MD) model, insisting on the importance of considering the thermodynamics pathways in order to understand ablation. We also illustrate how theory and simulations help in understanding the physics relevant to materials processing applications.