Thermoelastic wave induced by pulsed laser heating

In this work, a generalized solution for the thermoelastic plane wave in a semi-infinite solid induced by pulsed laser heating is developed. The solution takes into account the non-Fourier effect in heat conduction and the coupling effect between temperature and strain rate, which play significant roles in ultrashort pulsed laser heating. Based on this solution, calculations are conducted to study stress waves induced by nano-, pico-, and femtosecond laser pulses. It is found that with the same maximum surface temperature increase, a shorter pulsed laser induces a much stronger stress wave. The non-Fourier effect causes a higher surface temperature increase, but a weaker stress wave. Also, for the first time, it is found that a second stress wave is formed and propagates with the same speed as the thermal wave. The surface displacement accompanying thermal expansion shows a substantial time delay to the femtosecond laser pulse. On the contrary, surface displacement and heating occur simultaneously in nano- and picosecond laser heating. In femtosecond laser heating, results show that the coupling effect strongly attenuates the stress wave and extends the duration of the stress wave. This may explain the minimal damage in ultrashort laser materials processing. Received: 23 May 2000 / Accepted: 26 May 2000 / Published online: 20 September 2000