Electron avalanche breakdown by laser radiation in insulating crystals

摘要

Recent experimental investigations into laserminus;induced damage in the alkali halides have indicated that the damage is due to avalanche breakdown in its dc limit. Numerical computations for NaCl have been carried out that show that the ionization rate can be accurately computed by a classical diffusion or Fokkerminus;Planck approximation to the Boltzmann equation for ionization rates on the order of 1012secminus;1. For hot electrons it is necessary to add a contribution to the collision frequency that is due to the deformation potential in order to explain the dc character of breakdown by 1.06minus;mgr;m radiation.