Arylazophosphonate containing polymers designed for XeCl excimer laser ablation

Applying the N-P coupling technique, fifteen new poly(arylazophosphonate)s were synthesized by interfacial polycondensation from bifunctional diazoniu m salts and bifunctional phosphoric diesters. Because of their excellent fi lm forming properties and absorption behaviour poly(arylazophosphonate)s ar e suitable materials for laser ablation experiments with XeCl excimer laser s (308 nm). A variety of ablated structures have been generated by irradiat ion of the polymer films with a commercially available pulsed XeCl excimer laser. Macro experiments indicate remarkable structures with sharp edges, c lear contours, and flat bottoms. Moreover, various patterns with mu m dimen sions were generated by micro experiments and were characterized by means o f scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resolution of these structures in dicate that poly(arylazophosphonate)s are suitable materials for applicatio ns in microtechnology.