Melting and resolidification of gold film irradiated by nano- to femtosecond lasers

Rapid melting and resolidification of a free-standing gold film subject to nano- to femtosecond laser pulses are investigated using the two-temperature model in conjunction with an interfacial tracking method. The interfacial velocity, as well as elevated melting temperature and depressed solidification temperature, in the ultra-fast phase-change process are obtained by considering the interfacial energy balance and nucleation dynamics. A nonlinear electron heat capacity and a temperature-dependent electron–lattice coupling factor for the rapid phase change are taken into account. Effects of laser pulse width and fluence on melting and resolidification are also studied.