# Comparison of the productivity and ablation efficiency of different laser classes for laser ablation of gold in water and air

Research paper by Sarah Dittrich, René Streubel, Cormac McDonnell, Heinz P. Huber, Stephan Barcikowski, Bilal Gökce

Indexed on: 05 Dec '19Published on: 24 May '19Published in: Applied Physics A

#### Abstract

In this study, we compare different laser systems used for the synthesis of nanoparticles. The productivity and ablation efficiency of laser ablation of gold in water and in air are determined for three pulsed laser systems with comparable pulse energy but different pulse duration and repetition rate. All experiments are performed in a fluence range of up to $$20\,\hbox {J}/\hbox {cm}^{2}$$. The highest productivity among the considered lasers is found for a high-power picosecond laser, which shows 12 times higher ablation rate for the ablation in air compared to ablation in liquid. Further, we find that the threshold fluence for ablation in air is up to 1.9 times higher than for ablation in water. The highest ablation efficiency, which is defined as an energy specific ablation volume by the ablation rate divided by the laser power, is found for the low power, compact nanosecond laser system.