Dynamics of Laser Ablation and Applications in Laser Trace Analysis
Jochen Maul (Institut für Physik)

Nowadays, laser ablation plays an important role in microanalytics and material science. In spite of its significance, the ablation process is not yet fully understood, manifesting in a variety of phenomena of increasing complexity with higher laser fluences.

I will first report on investigations which provide direct insight into nanosecond laser ablation on metallic substrates. Subsequently, laser ablation in combination with resonance ionization spectroscopy has been used for an isotope selective detection of elemental traces. The analytical method will be presented and applications with cosmological relevance will be outlined.