Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1991 · 12 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesMaterials EngineeringMaterials ScienceOptical MaterialsPolymer ChemistryPolymer MaterialsOptical PolymersOrganic SemiconductorsPolymer PhysicsPolymer ProcessingPolymer SurfacesPolymer Thin FilmsAblation MechanismsDoped SemiconductorsEtch DamageEtch RateLaser AblationOptical Absorption CoefficientOptical Polymer ProcessingTransparent Polymers
Near UV excimer ablation of transparent polymers can be improved or even enabled by doping using organic dyes. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) have been investigated using both photostable and photoreactive dopants. The best results with regard to etch quality and effectivity have been achieved with 1,3- diphenyltriazene, which supports the ablation process by photoeliminating nitrogen. Etch rates of 50 jim/pulse can be reached at 308 nm and 351 nra. The etch rate does not depend entirely on the low level absorption coefficient of the doped polymer.