Nanosecond photoacoustic studies on ultraviolet laser ablation of organic polymers

Wide bandwidth polyvinylidenefluoride film piezoelectric transducers have been used to make time-resolved measurements of stress waves generated by ablation and subthreshold thermoelastic mechanisms in excimer laser irradiated polymers. At high fluence, ablation commences within 4–6 ns of the start of the laser pulse and generates short acoustic impulses (∼20 ns) with peak stresses ≥107 Pa (∼100 atm).