ULTRAVIOLET-LASER ABLATION OF HALIDES AND OXIDES

We compare and contrast recent measurements of the behavior of ions and excited ions desorbed from samples of alkali halides and oxide ferroelectrics by an excimer laser at 308 nm wavelength. At the intensities used in these experiments, the density of local electronic excitation is low in the halides and high in the ferroelectrics, corresponding to two- and one-photon band-to-band transitions, respectively. The observed desorption yields and changes in the sample surfaces are discussed in terms of the density of electronic excitation, the relative strengths of electron-lattice coupling, and the role of thermal relaxation processes in the two materials.