Laser ablation of aluminium: Drops and voids

Laser ablation is the process of removing surface material by pulsed laser radiation. The process has been modelled by the molecular dynamics simulation model. To achieve ablation, the laser beam has to be more intense than a certain threshold. Close to the threshold the heated material will create voids while above the threshold the ablated material forms drops. First we present a method on how to detect the drops and voids and describe. Then we will present results on the distribution of the drops and voids and compare the results to theory and experimental results.