Nanosecond time-resolved study of pulsed laser ablation in the monolayer regime

Pulsed laser ablation of few angstroms or organic material is investigated on a nanosecond time scale for the first time. The use of optically excited surface plasmons as a probe provides high sensitivity with respect to the thickness of ablated material. The results show that for the films used in our investigation (isopropanol, acetone, and tetrafluoromethane), ablative photodecomposition is not relevant for the ablation process, although there is evidence for chemical transformations.