Slip banding in Al single crystals produced by 10.6-μm laser pulses

Abstract
Slip bands produced by 100‐nsec 10.6‐μm focused laser pulses have been observed on clean annealed Al single‐crystal targets with (111), (001), and (110) surface‐plane orientations. At energy densities ≳37 J/cm2 the slip banding is not consistent with thermal stress, implying that evaporative compression is the dominant mechanism. This is supported by evidence from neutral particle emission. Possible evidence of thermal stress is present in slip banding observed near and below the threshold for melting. The relationship of observed slip to target orientation can be a valuable source of information on laser‐induced stress fields.