Laser ablation in a model two-phase system

Short pulse laser ablation of a model two-component system has been simulat ed using a coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) model. A system with two disparate components (hard and soft) has been considered, based broadly on the properties of hard tissue. The existence of distinct regimes of materia l ejection has been identified and the processes leading to the ablation ha ve been investigated, In the lower fluence regime gaseous particles of the soft component stream from the hard matrix but there is no ejection of the hard component. In the higher fluence regime chunks of the hard component a re ejected simultaneously with the soft component. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.