Comparison of the transmission behavior of a triazeno-polymer with a theoretical model

The threshold fluence, F-Th, of ablation of a triazeno-polymer was measured in the low fluence range for thin films using conventional UV-spectroscopy. It was found that there is a clearly defined F-Th for 308 nm irradiation between 20 and 25 mJ cm(-2). In the case of 248 nm irradiation, a ''threshold fluence range'' between 16 and 32 mJ cm(-2) was found. The ablation rate for both irradiation wavelengths depends on film-thickness. For the XeCl excimer-laser, the point at which the rate becomes independent of thickness was observed to lie at a value which did not correspond to the calculated laser penetration depth, whereas for the KrF laser the independence was not reached within the applied thickness range (up to 0.35 mu m). Additional transmission measurements have been performed showing that the target transmission at 248 nm increases only slightly, whereas for 308 nm the transmission increases by a factor of approximately 4. This result shows that dynamic target absorption properties are very important for describing the ablation process. The results derived from the transmission studies and etch rates were analyzed theoretically with a two-level model of chromophore absorption. For 248 nm irradiation this model can describe the transmission behavior and the ablation rate. In the case of 308 nm irradiation, it was only possible to match one data set. A good agreement with the experimental transmission ratio does not match the ablation rate and vice versa.