Context: Laser ablation is a means of removing surface material from a target, usually to re-deposit it on a substrate. This can be done in ways which lead to very high quality films

Current activities: Our main activity has been to understand how the mesoscopic structure (microstructure) of the target influences ablation. Originally, our idea was to understand the production of particles in ablation. We have now begun to understand the way that ablation is sensitive to microstructure, especially when using sub-bandgap light which is absorbed primarily at defects, including dislocations and grain boundaries. Our model includes the effects of charge and energy motion, and the electric fields set up by charge loss and redistribution. We are now exploring these ideas as a route to minimal-invasive dental ablation.

People involved (including external collaborators)

Marta Ramos; Ricardo Ribeiro (Universidade do Minho, Braga); Tom Dickinson (Washington State); Gavin Pearson (previously Eastman Dental Institute, UCL, now Queen Mary College) Jonathan Knowles (Eastman Dental); Nicola Richmond (previously UCL)

Recent (or simply relevant) papers

349. Modelling of surface evaporation by laser ablation.
R M Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos, A M Stoneham and J M Correia Pires 1997 Appl Surf Sci 109/110 158-161

367. Mesoscopic modelling and the evolution of the target surface on laser ablation.
R M Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos, A M Stoneham 1997 Proc Int Conf Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies (AMPT 97, Guimaraes July 1997) Vol II 489-494.

368. Mesoscopic study of laser absorption by a transparent ceramic
R M Ribeiro, M M D Ramos, A M Stoneham 1997 E-MRS 97 Spring Meeting 1997 submitted

378 Mesoscopic Modelling for the evolution of the target surface on Laser Ablation
R Mendes Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos & A M Stoneham 1997 Proc Int Conf on Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies AMPT?97 Vol II 489-494

383 Mesoscopic Model of Laser Interaction with a Grain Boundary
R Mendes Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos and A M Stoneham 1998Proc Ninth CIMTEC (World Ceramics Congress, Florence, June 1998) pps 21-26 of Computational Modeling and Simulation of Materials (Topical Symposium I of the Forum on New materials, 9th CIMTEC World Ceramic Congress)

384 Mesoscopic Model for the Laser-Target Interaction
R Mendes Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos and A M Stoneham 1998 in Advances in the Laser Ablation of Materials, MRS Proc 526 (edited R K Singh, D H Lowndes, D B Chrisey, J Narayan, T Kawai & E Fogarassy) pps 21-26

386 Mesoscopic modelling of Laser Ablation
R Mendes Ribeiro, Marta M D Ramos & A M Stoneham 1998 Thermophysics and Aeromechanics 5 223-233 (Proc Euromech Colloquium "Mechanics of Laser Ablation", Novosibisrk 1997)

393 The mesoscopic modelling of laser ablation
A M Stoneham, Marta M D Ramos and R M Ribeiro1999 Applied Physics A (based on an invited talk at the 1999 Göttingen Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA))

Cross-links (see surface excitation).