Enclosed surface laser ablation of laminated aluminium foil

In this paper, the work reported has concentrated upon a laminated metallised polymer film. A vacuum deposited aluminium layer ;0.5 mm.is sandwiched between two layers of oriented polypropylene OPP. film whose thickness varies from 20 to 40 mm. Aluminium has been removed from selected areas of this sealed system without breaking the seal or causing damage to the OPP film using a 75 W Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The mechanisms involved in this new process have been investigated. q2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.