Oxidation of thin Cd,Cu and Te films under continuous laser irradiation

Thin films of Cd, Cu and Te are irradiated in air by means of a continuous, unfocused laser beam. The diameter of the oxidized zone varies empirically with time like: $\text{d = d}{}_0\text{exp}\text{?(t ? t}{}_1\text{)}\text{t}{}_2\text{]}$, where t₁ and t₂depend on the power of the laser beam. Temperature calculations indicate that melting of the elemental constituents is probably involved in the transformation.