Abstract

In the ablative photodecomposition (ADP) of organic and biological polymers using UV excimer lasers,¹ knowledge of the time evolution of ablation is of considerable importance, since it may, in conjugation with theoretical models,² help resolve uncertainties in the basic Interaction mechanism and thus lead to improved understanding of this process which has Important practical applications, New results³ on the ADP process are reported, as obtained using wide-bandwidth polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film transducers to measure transient stress waves in various polymers due to recoil momentum transferred from the ablating material.⁴ These provide information on the time evolution of the ablation process and also allow subablation threshold signals due to thermoelastic waves or low-level etching to be identified.

© 1986 Optical Society of America