Selective gold film removal from multilayer substrates

Pulsed UV laser ablation is used to remove a thin (250nm) gold film from one side of a 130μm thick quartz substrate. This is done without removing the gold film deposited on the bottom of the quartz plate. An excimer laser is used to remove the gold film with single pulse ablation. We further analyze the effects of increasing pulse energies on the bottom film, and show the progression from pinhole formation to simultaneous removal of both gold films as function of pulse overlap.