Laser Processing and Chemistry

This book gives an overview of the fundamentals and applications of laser-matter interactions, in particular with regard to laser material processing. Special attention is given to laser-induced physical and chemical processes at gas-solid, liquid-solid, and solid-solid interfaces. Starting with the background physics, the book proceeds to examine applications of lasers in “standard” laser machining and laser chemical processing (LCP), including the patterning, coating, and modification of material surfaces. This fourth edition has been enlarged to cover the rapid advances in the understanding of the dynamics of materials under the action of ultrashort laser pulses, and to include a number of new topics, in particular the increasing importance of lasers in various different fields of surface functionalizations and nanotechnology. In two additional chapters, recent developments in biotechnology, medicine, art conservation and restoration are summarized. Graduate students, physicists, chemists, engineers, and manufacturers alike will find this book an invaluable reference work on laser processing.