Abstract

Picosecond CO₂ laser pulses were used in the present study to investigate the high intensity interaction behavior of indium antimonide up to 4×10⁹ W/cm², the material damage threshold. It was found experimentally that a very dense electron-hole plasma of ~ 2 × 10¹⁸ cm^-3 existed just before the surface was melted, and that melting could occur without concurrent sparking damage¹. Thus there are distinct regions of nonlinear plasma generation, plasma heating, melting and spark formation leading to breakdown damage. In the present investigation, we are interested in the nonlinear plasma generation regime, and the interaction of laser-semiconductor at high intensities.

© 1984 Optical Society of America