UV Laser Ablation of Polymers: From Structuring to Thin Film Deposition

UV laser ablation of polymers is a versatile method to structure polymers with high resolution. The mechanism of ablation is often discussed controversially, but it is necessary to keep in mind that polymers are complex systems with a wide variety of properties that can influence the ablation mechanism. Analyzing the data, it appears that the ablation mechanism is a complex interrelated system, where photochemical and photothermal reactions are very important. The pressure jump, which is associated with the creation of small molecules and originates from both types of reaction, is also important for ablation. The importance of each effect is strongly dependent on the type of polymer, the laser wavelengths, the pulse length, and the substrate. UV laser ablation can also be utilized to deposit directly thin polymer films by PLD, but this is limited to certain polymers. Alternative laser-based techniques (LIFT) utilize the decomposition of a thin layer to transfer complete layers with high spatial resolution. This approach can be used to transfer pixels of sensitive materials to a substrate with a minimal thermal and UV load.