Abstract

The polymer CR-39 (allyl diglycol carbonate) finds application in optical components because of its excellent transparency in the visible region and its good scratch resistance. It is also widely used as a detector for heavy ionizing particles, based on revealing their damage tracks by selective chemical etching ('track-etch' detector). The influence of coherent and incoherent radiation on the polymers chemical etching properties have been reported previously [1], principally in relation to track-etch detection. Here we describe an investigation of the ablation of CR-39 using 157nm F₂ laser radiation, motivated by an interest in producing optical microstructures and the possibility of revealing radiation damage tracks by photoablation.

© 2009 IEEE