Time-resolved UV absorption of polyimide

The 355-nm transient absorption of polyimide thin films has been measured following excitation withsubablative, 24-ps long, 355-nm laser pulses. The 355-nm absorption increases by 25% following 355-nm, 20 mJ/cm² excitation and recovers with a fast time constant 34 ps, and a slow time constant which is much longer than 6 ns. The data are fitted by a three-level rate equation model incorporating the temperature dependence of the ground state absorption coefficient. The fast component is attributed to the decay ofS ₁ and the slow component results from increased ground state absorption caused by a laser-induced temperature rise. The nonlinear intensity dependence is attributed to excited state (S ₁) absorption. These results indicate the importance of considering the dynamic absorption in modelling ablation.