ABSTRACT
Although material ablation by pulsed light sources has been studied since the invention of the laser [1, 2], reports in 1982 of polymers etched by UV excimer lasers [3, 4] stimulated widespread investigations aimed at using the process for micromachining. In the intervening years scientific and industrial research in this field has proliferated to a staggering extent-probably spurred on by the remarkably small features that can be etched and replicated with little or no apparent damage to surrounding un-irradiated regions of material. Manufacturing industry now uses laser micromachining in many high-tech application areas for which microfabrication is an enabling technology.
