Laser induced heating and emission of electrons from metallic targets

✍ Scribed by R Bharuthram; V.K Tripathi

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 60 KB
• Volume: 259
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0375-9601
• DOI: 10.1016/s0375-9601(99)00371-0

✦ Synopsis

A high power laser incident on a metallic target heats the electrons in the skin layer within a few ps. For a specific dependence of electron-phonon collision frequency on electron temperature, n A T 1r2 , the steady state electron temperature e profile turns out to be an exponential function of depth. The heated electrons raise the rate of thermionic emission. When the laser is significantly converted into a surface plasma wave the rate of heating and emission is considerably enhanced.