Nanosecond-time-resolution thermal emission measurement during pulsed excimer-laser interaction with materials

A nanosecond-time-resolution pyrometer has been developed for measuring the transient surface temperature of a solid material heated by pulsed excimer-laser irradiation. Fast germanium diodes are employed to capture the transient thermal emission signals in the wavelength range between 1.2 and 1.6 mu m. The surface temperature is derived from the measured spectral thermal emission. The directional spectral emissivity is determined in situ by measuring the transient directional spectral reflectivity and applying Kirchhoff's law. The experimental results are in good agreement with numerical thermal modeling predictions. The pyrometric thermal emission measurement also yields the solid/liquid interface temperature during the pulsed excimer-laser-induced melting. The relation between the measured interface superheating temperature and the interface velocity reveals the melting kinetic relation during the high-power, short-pulse laser-induced phase-change processes.