The use of copper vapour lasers for laser ablation in laser materials processing applications is studied. To this purpose, the generation of near diffraction-limited beam quality output from a single medium-scale oscillator is demonstrated via matching the total buffer gas pressure to the specific electrical input power loading and the degree of insulation of the plasma tube. The design and characterisation of a Master-Oscillator Power-Amplifier system based on a smallbore oscillator is also described, focusing on pulse stretching techniques to provide efficient seeding required for producing 20-50 W high beam-quality output for laser materials processing purposes. Various experimental studies on the fundamental processes of laser ablation of metals are presented. The effect of the background gas properties on shock-wave formation in laser generated plasmas is studied using a ballistic pendulum. The experimental findings are found to be accurately described by a modified Sedov-Taylor-Von Neumann theory which accounts for the effect of the piston-mass. The theory is applied to characterise the fluorination process in the shock-wave, in view of oxygen isotope analysis in geochemistry. Atomic emission spectroscopy is shown to provide some measure of the electron temperature and electron density at the plasma core. The experimental results are discussed in view of existing models to describe the extreme Stark-broadening and self-absorption in dense, cool plasmas. A comparative study of the use of femtosecond and nanosecond pulsed lasers for laser ablation of metals is presented to assess the relative importance of thermal diffusion. Measurement of the recoil momentum due to ejection of molten particulates during ablation in vacuum provides insight into the effect of material properties. Diffusion-limited surface texturing of metals via direct transfer of an optical interference patterns is demonstrated.</p
