LAUSR

Abstract This paper uses an improved electron kinetic theory to study the ablation characteristics of femtosecond laser processing for nanometer-sized ceramic films. In ultrafast process and ultrasmall size where the particle description of electrons and phonons is valid, an improved electron kinetic theory can be applied to analyze the ablation characteristics of femtosecond laser processing for materials. In this work, the ablation rates of nanometer-sized lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) ceramics are investigated using an improved electron kinetic theory and the model is solved by Laplace transform method. The results obtained from this work are validated by the available experimental data. The effects of material thermal properties on the ablation characteristics of femtosecond laser processing for ceramics are also discussed.