Vacuum Ultraviolet Laser Ablation of Teflon (PTFE)

ABSTRACTVacuum-ultraviolet laser ablation of Teflon is reviewed. The 157 nm irradiation of Teflon produces clean ablation sites well suited to micromachining applications in the electronics and medical fields. At 193 nm, etching profiles are poorly defined, showing swelling characteristics commonly produced by longer wavelength lasers. Comprehensive new 193 nm ablation data are presented showing the first evidence of incubation effects for Teflon. A computer model was developed to include ablation, swelling and incubation processes. The computer results satisfactorily model the experimental data over a large fluence range of 0.6 to 13 J/cm2 with three adjustable parameters.