Science and applications of energy beam ablation

This article reviews the advances in the science and applications of energy beam ablation of materials at the University of Michigan. Types of energy beams applied to materials ablation are: excimer lasers, laser-ablation-ass isted plasma discharges, and channelspark electron beams. The characteristi cs of the ablation plasma plumes generated by these energy deposition sourc es are discussed and compared. Plume expansion velocities are in the range of cm/mu s for all three types of ablation plumes. Electron beam ablation p lumes show higher ionization states than laser ablation plumes.