Session S5 - Laser Ablation of Biological and Polymeric Materials.
INVITED session, Wednesday afternoon, March 24
524AB, Palais des Congres
It was a little over twenty years ago that two groups, one in the U.S. and another in Hull, U.K. working independently, reported that ultraviolet laser pulses of nanosecond duration were capable of etching organic polymer films without any need for further development.In 1982, our group at the IBM Research Center which studied this phenomenon at 193nm named the process "Ablative Photodecomposition". Dyer and his group in Hull reported similar results at 248nm and 308nm in 1983. We also showed that the process worked well in the etching of tissue and had the potential to be of use in surgery since there was no detectable heat damage around the exposed area. These reports led to a burst of activity from numerous groups all over the world which has not slowed down significantly to the present day. The driving force behind the activity was and continues to be the potential for applications in several areas of computer hardware technology as well as in corneal refractive surgery. Today these applications can be said to be firmly in place and well-accepted. Strangely, the science behind the process is still a subject for serious discussion. The reason for this is the mix of physicists, chemists, medical doctors and engineers who have stepped into the debate. The result is a true 'Babel' which will be pointed out.