Plastic deformation of copper under the action of high-power nanosecond UV laser pulse

The modification of the polished surface of oxygen-free copper after exposure to a rigidly focused single pulse of a UV Nd:YaG laser was investigated. It was revealed that at pre-threshold energy densities ($E\sim$ 0.6 J/cm$^2$), in the absence of noticeable traces of ablation, an irreversible elevation of the metal surface in the irradiation zone arised. With an increase in the energy density ablation processes noticeably level out this effect.