Polymers for UV and near-IR irradiation

Photopolymers designed for UV laser ablation were tested in quite different applications at very different irradiation wavelengths, i.e. in the UV (308 nm) and in the near-IR (935 nm). Diffractive gray tone phase masks were optimized for laser ablation and used to fabricate micro-optical elements. The application of the photopolymers (triazene-polymers) allowed a faster processing due to the high sensitivity, and showed less contamination of the surface by ablation products. The designed polymers also revealed superior properties for applications in the near-IR. Near-IR irradiation is used to create a plasma which could be used as a thruster for microsatellites. The carbon-doped triazene-polymer shows higher values of the momentum coupling coefficient and specific impulse than a commercial polymer. The well-defined threshold for the momentum coupling coefficient was only observed for the designed polymer. This threshold is an important feature for the design of real laser plasma thrusters for microsatellites. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.