Kinetic Features of the Laser Ablation of Gamma-Irradiated Polyvinylidene Fluoride

We study the effect of γ-radiation from ⁶⁰Co on the rate of post-irradiation laser ablation of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The laser ablation of both the initial and γ-irradiated polymer occurs without an incubation period and does not require time to heat up the polymer target by the laser within the time scale of our measurements. The second feature of the laser ablation of PVDF is an extreme dependence of the ablation rate on the dose of γ-radiation over a wide range (10 kGy – 3.5 MGy) and the appearance of a minimum ablation rate of 0.1 mg/s at a dose 300 kGy. A gradual increase in the dose of γ-irradiation above 300 kGy is accompanied by a rise in the laser ablation rate. At γ-irradiation doses up to 2.3 MGy, the rate of the post-irradiated laser ablation of PVDF reaches 6.5 mg/s, which is equal to the laser ablation rate of non-irradiated PVDF.