Abstract

Since the first demonstration of the photoetching of polymers by excimer laser radiation [1, 2], the ability to produce sharp structures with submicrometer accuracy and well-defined depth has stimulated a series of investigations of this process. It is now well established, that this process works for a series of polymers and tissue material and for a range of laser wavelengths between 193 nm and 351 nm. We shall describe the direct observation of excimer laser (248 nm) photoablation products from PMMA, polystyrene, Kapton and Teflon using picosecond (ps) laser mass spectroscopy. By this technique, the abundance of the parent molecular ion P⁺ in the mass spectrum can be enhanced dramatically [3, ref.].

© 1987 Optical Society of America