Excimer laser implantation of pyrene molecules in a solid polymer

Based on previous studies on laser ablation of polymers doped with aromatic molecules, a new phenomenon termed Laser Molecular Implantation (LMI) emerged. In this study, a fluorescent molecule such as pyrene was doped at low concentration in a thin PMMA or PEMA matrix spin-coated on a fused silica wafer. Quantitative analysis showed that the fluorescence intensity of the implanted pyrene molecules increased with increasing laser fluence until the ablation threshold limit. AFM images did not reveal any damage. Varying the distance between the two polymer films did not hamper LMI but reduced the amount of molecules transferred.