Abstract
The thresholds and delay times of the appearance of a light flash near the surfaces of aluminum and graphite targets were determined when these targets interacted with KrF laser radiation pulses. It was found that the flash could be identified with the onset of target evaporation. The evaporation of aluminum began at local inhomogeneities in the form of recesses and led to the formation of microcraters. A study was made of the statistics and morphological structure of typical microcraters.