EXCIMER LASER ABLATION OF INORGANIC MATERIALS

The ablation of LiNbO3 and GaAs by an excimer laser has been studied at wavelengths of 193 nm (ArF, for LiNbO3) and 248 nm (KrF, for GaAs). It was observed that the concentration of the elements having lower vaporization temperatures decreased with respect to the elements having higher vaporization temperatures at the irradiated surfaces. From these results, it was obvious that a thermal effect existed in the ablation process of these materials in spite of the typical processing times which were on the order of 25 ns.