Excimer laser-induced damage in bilayer carbide/polyimide systems

The effect of XeCl (308 nm, 20 and 75 ns) excimer laser ablation of 30–40 nm thick carbide layers (TiC, Cr<INF>3</INF>C<INF>2</INF>, B<INF>4</INF>C) deposited on 2000 nm polyimide in the laser fluence range 10–1300 mJ cm⁻² has been investigated. The surface modification in the ablated spot areas has been observed. At fluences of 100–250 mJ cm⁻², complete removal of the carbide layers was achieved without damage to the bottom polyimide layer. Ablation at fluences above 250 mJ cm⁻² caused interface damage and a different polyimide behaviour under RIE in oxygen. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.