XeCl laser ablation of biocompatible PTFE studied by photothermal beam deflection

Laser beam deflection is a useful tool for studying the dynamics of the pulsed laser ablation mechanism, and has the advantage of being used as an in situ laser damage monitoring technique for both bulk and thin film polymeric and biological tissue samples. This work employs the photothermal deflection technique to study possible photo-acoustic phenomena during the excimer laser ablation of biocompatible polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and to examine the crater surface quality by video microscopy. Although photo-acoustic phenomena are detected in the laser fluence threshold region, ablation is mainly the result of the photothermal process.