Quantitative measurement of the ablation rate of poly(methyl methacrylate) with 193-nm excimer laser radiation

Abstract
The ablation rate of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) from two different producers has been measured as a function of fluence, and the result compared with other published work. The two PMMA samples had distinctly different ablation rates. Differences between these two samples and the previously published work demonstrate the difficulties of obtaining quantitative ablation rate data. Possible sources of error in obtaining these data are discussed.