Propagation of the phase transition waves in plasma of semiconductors and metals

Summary form only given. The influence of high-power electric and magnetic field on condensed conducting metal may cause the following phase transitions: 1) melting and (or) evaporation as at laser breakdown of solid and liquid low-resistance semiconductors as in wire electric explosion; 2) semiconductor-metal phase transition of high-resistance semiconductors. We investigate the propagation process of the local region of electric and magnetic field strong non-uniformity (region of any phase transition); this propagation process is called a phase transition wave. We considered the following phase transitions in the plasma of semiconductors and metals: 1) ionization waves in high-resistance semiconductors; 2) melting and evaporation waves at electric breakdown of low-resistance semiconductors; 3) phase transition waves at fast and superfast regimes of wire electric explosions.