HEATING EFFECTS INDUCED BY A PULSED-LASER IN A SEMIINFINITE TARGET INVIEW OF THE THEORY OF LINEAR-SYSTEMS

The two-dimensional Laplace integral transform technique is used to so lve the problem of heating a semi-infinite target induced by the surfa ce absorption of a laser pulse, Mathematical expressions for the surfa ce temperature and the temperature profile within the target are obtai ned considering cooling and temperature-dependent absorption coefficie nt at the front surface, The linear behaviour of the system is found t o be established for all cases except for that of temperature dependen t surface absorptance, As an illustrative example, computations are ca rried out on Al, Cu, Ag and Au targets using an empirical formula for the temporal distribution of a measured laser pulse. Copyright (C) 199 6 Elsevier Science Ltd.