Optical properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) during nanosecond laser processing

Abstract This article presents experimental investigations of effects of the process parameters on the medical grade polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer processed by laser source with irradiation at UV (266 and 355 nm), VIS (532 nm) and NIR (1064 nm). Systematic experiments are done to characterize how the laser beam parameters (wavelength, fluence, and number of pulses) affect the optical properties and the chemical composition in the laser treated areas. Remarkable changes of the optical properties and the chemical composition are observed. Despite the low optical absorption of the native PDMS for UV, VIS and NIR wavelengths, successful laser treatment is accomplished due to the incubation process occurring below the polymer surface. With increasing of the fluence and the number of the pulses chemical transformations are revealed in the entire laser treated area and hence decreasing of the optical transmittance is observed. The incubation gets saturation after a certain number of pulses and the laser ablation of the material begins efficiently. At the UV and VIS wavelengths the number of the initial pulses, at which the optical transmittance begins to reduce, decreases from 16 up to 8 with increasing of the laser fluence up to 1.0, 2.5 and 10 J cm −2 for 266, 355 and 532 nm, respectively. In the case of 1064 nm the optical transmittance begins to reduce at 11th pulse incident at a fluence of 13 J cm −2 and the number of the pulses decreases to 8 when the fluence reaches value of 16 J cm −2 . The threshold laser fluence needed to induce incubation process after certain number of pulses of 8 is different for every wavelength irradiation as the values increase from 1.0 for 266 nm up to 16 J cm −2 for 1064 nm. The incubation and the ablation processes occur in the PDMS elastomer material during its pulsed laser treatment are a complex function of the wavelength, fluence, number of pulses and the material properties as well.