Laser Ablation of Doped Polymer Systems

Abstract Laser ablation has become a widely recognized tool for materials processing. In the area of polymeric materials, applications of UV lasers for surface modification, microlithography, cutting, and boring have been explored. With the addition of dopants into the bulk, it has become possible to sensitize most known classes of polymers for UV laser ablation at any desired wavelength, including fluoropolymers. Important features of dopant‐induced ablation are the reduction of threshold energy fluence required for ablation, and the enhancement of the etching rate by factors higher than ten. In the present review the investigated dopant/polymer systems are summarized and compared. Based on the available information, a general scheme including all relevant pathways is suggested, revealing that in each particular case the dominant mechanism depends on the specific system under study.