Additional information is available at the end of the chapter http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/50731
IntroductionAction of super-power and ultra-short laser pulses on highly absorbing condensed media is investigated in the past two decades [1] - [5]. The urgency of this problem is primarily determined by a variety of practical applications of pulsed laser irradiation. In a short period of time scientists have mastered such operations as ablation of elemental materials by femtosecond lasers (100 fs) [6], femtosecond nanostructuring [7], generation of metallic nanoparticles and nanostructures by laser ablation of massive targets by 40 fs and 2ps pulses [8], etc.The use of super-power G~10 12 ÷10 15 W/cm 2 and ultra-short τL≈10 -12 ÷10 -15 s laser pulses for dimensional processing of materials, such as cutting of various materials by picofemtosecond laser pulses [9], micro-drilling by a femtosecond laser [10 ], surface etching of metals (Al, Cu, Mo, Ni) and semiconductors (Si) [11], is accompanied by realization of unique physical conditions. In particular, the duration of action becomes comparable with the characteristic times of thermalization and phase transitions in matter. This leads to the need to address complex fundamental problems, including the heating of the material and the kinetics of phase transitions in a strong deviation from local thermodynamic equilibrium.It should be noted that the majority of laser technologies is associated with the beginning of phase transformations in the material. In particular, the action of pico -femtosecond laser pulses of high intensity on solid targets is one of the ways to create individual particles with unique characteristics, or to form their streams, consisting of a cluster, liquid or solid fragments of the target. The formation of the particle flux in the pulsed laser ablation is observed for a wide range of materials: metals, semiconductors and insulators. The Laser Pulses -Theory, Technology, and Applications 220 possibility of usage of laser ablation products in practical applications was the impetus for a number of experimental and theoretical studies [12], aimed at studying the conditions and mechanisms of formation of particles of nano -and micro-sizes during the laser exposure.The accumulation of knowledge of the experimental nature in the first place in this dynamic field leads not only to the variety of practical applications of pulsed laser action, but also to a number of issues of independent physical interest.T h e m a i n f e a t u r e s o f u l t r a s h o r t a c t i o n o n m e t a l s a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h h i g h s p e e d a n d voluminous nature of the energy release of the laser pulse. The high rate of heating of a condensed medium is associated with rapid phase transformations of matter, characterized by the transfer of superheated phase boundaries of high-power fluxes of mass and energy. Overheated metastable states at the interface are characterized by temperatures, whose values can be hundreds of degrees higher than the equilibrium val...