Process and apparatus for ablation

The invention firstly comprises a method of ablation processing including a step of ablating a region of a substrate (1) by way of a laser beam (3) characterized by a further step of removing debris ablated from the region (1) by way of a flow of a fluid (7), namely a gas or vapour, a liquid or a combination of these, wherein the flow of fluid (7) is directed to flow over the region so as to entrap debris and thereafter to remove the entrapped debris from the region by directing the flow of fluid with any entrapped debris away from region along a predetermined path (6) avoiding subsequent deposition of entrapped debris on the substrate. The invention further comprises apparatus enabling a laser to ablate a region of a substrate characterized by a partially closed debris extraction module (DEM) (4) located between a focusing or imaging lens (2) for a laser beam (3) and a region of a substrate (1), the DEM (4) having input (8) and output (6) ports by way of which a flow of a fluid (namely a gas or vapour, a liquid or a combination of these) is caused to flow over the region (1) so as to entrap debris ablated from the region and thereafter to remove the entrapped debris from the region by providing for the flow of fluid with entrapped debris to pass away from region along a predetermined path to prevent subsequent deposition of entrapped debris on the substrate.