Deposition of amorphous fluoropolymers thin films by laser ablation

Thin films of the amorphous fluoropolymer, Teflon AF(r), were deposited by laser ablation using the 4th harmonic, at 266 nm, of a Nd-YAG laser. Infrared spectroscopy indicated that the composition of the ablated films were that of the starting materials and x-ray diffraction spectra corroborated the lack of crystallinity. The morphology of the films was controlled by the temperature of the substrate during film formation. We suggest pyrolitic decomposition and subsequent repolymerization as a possible mechanism to the formation of Teflon-AF(r) films by laser ablation.