Opportunities in pulsed laser deposition with the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Free Electron Laser

The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Free Electron Laser (TJNAF-FEL) provides a unique combination of laser parameters: femtosecond pulses, high average power, wavelength tunability and very high repetition rate. This work highlights the advantages of using sub-picosecond pulses at very high repetition rate for pulsed laser ablation and deposition, through analysis of plasma spectra, time-resolved ion and electron emission and morphology of the ablated targets. It is found that the femtosecond pulses produce ablation with little melting and that the high repetition rate leads to high deposition rates as well as laser-plume interactions not seen with lower repetition rate systems.