  Laser excitation in silicon from femto- to pico-second time scales is
studied. We assume the Three-Temperature Model (3TM) which describes the
dynamics of the distinct quasi-temperatures for electrons, holes, and lattice.
Numerical results for damage threshold reproduce the experimental results not
only quantitatively, but qualitatively as well, showing dependence on laser
pulse duration. Comparison with experimental data suggests that electron
emission and thermal melting are both responsible for damage in silicon. We
found that electron-phonon relaxation time has a significant effect on pulse
duration dependence of electron emission.
