In contrast to mechanical techniques involving cutting with a knife, cutting with a microtome or grinding, pulsed UV-laser ablation is an irradiation technique where a so-called Excimer laser is used, and the process is adiabatic, which means that no or a very little chemical change occurs in the material being processed. Cross sections of samples of Scots pine and Norway spruce which had been exposed outdoors have been prepared with the help of an Excimer laser (wavelength 248 nm)for study in a microscope. UV-laser ablation has been found to be a suitable method of preparation for wood when it is desired to obtain thin sections with little influence on the material, and particularly when dealing with brittle materials, e.g. archaeological wood, biologically-attacked wood or, as in this case, wood which has been exposed outdoors.
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