TY - JOUR A1 - Pentzien, Simone A1 - Conradi, Andrea A1 - Koter, Robert A1 - Krüger, Jörg T1 - Cleaning of artificially soiled paper using nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond laser pulses JF - Applied physics A N2 - Cleaning of cultural assets, especially fragile organic materials like paper, is a part of the conservation process. Laser radiation as a non-contact tool offers prospects for that purpose. For the studies presented here, paper model samples were prepared using three different paper types (pure cellulose, rag paper, and wood-pulp paper). Pure cellulose serves as reference material. Rag and woodpulp paper represent essential characteristics of the basic materials of real-world artworks. The papers were mechanically soiled employing pulverized charcoal. Pure and artificially soiled paper samples were treated with laser pulses of 28 fs (800 nm wavelength) and 8–12 ns (532 nm) duration in a multi pulse approach. Additionally, the cellulose reference material was processed with 30 ps (532 nm) laser pulses. Damage and cleaning thresholds of pure and soiled paper were determined for the different laser regimes. Laser working ranges allowing for removal of contamination and avoiding permanent modification to the substrate were found. The specimens prior and after laser illumination were characterized by light-optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as multi spectral imaging analysis. The work extends previous nanosecond laser cleaning investigations on paper into the ultra-short pulse duration domain. KW - Laser cleaning KW - Ablation KW - Laser impact on surfaces KW - Paper KW - Femtosecond laser PY - 2010 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-010-5809-7 SN - 0947-8396 VL - 101 IS - 2 SP - 441 EP - 446 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-22155 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pentzien, Simone A1 - Conradi, Andrea A1 - Koter, Robert A1 - Krüger, Jörg ED - Engel, P. ED - Schirò, J. ED - Larsen, R. ED - Moussakova, E. ED - Kecskeméti, I. T1 - Cleaning of soiled paper model samples using short and ultrashort laser pulses T2 - Conference 'New Approaches to Book and Paper Conservation - Restoration' (Proceedings) N2 - Paper is one of the most important materials representing and witnessing human culture particularly as a carrier medium for text and image. As soiling hampers the reception of information, paper cleaning techniques are needed. Traditional mechanical and chemical cleaning methods are used by conservator-restorers. In some cases, a classical cleaning procedure of paper objects yields unsatisfactory results or a conventional treatment is even impossible. Especially, fragile paper objects cause problems due to mechanical instabilities. Laser cleaning as a non-contact method might be a way to overcome some of the limitations of classical cleaning techniques. Laser parameters have to be chosen to achieve removal of the soiling without influencing the artwork. Any immediate as well as long-term effects causing an irreversible change of the artwork have to be avoided. At present, most laser applications are found in stone and metal conservation, while laser treatment of complex organic materials like paper is still not fully developed for application in conservators' workshops. This contribution describes recent work of pulsed laser cleaning of soiled model samples. Pure cellulose, rag paper and wood-pulp paper were mechanically soiled with pulverized charcoal in a standardized procedure to make model samples representing essential characteristics of contaminated real-world artworks. Afterwards, model samples were cleaned using short and ultrashort laser pulses in the nanosecond and femtosecond time domain, respectively. An extensive analysis of the model samples after laser treatment using an optical microscope and a multi-spectral imaging system allows a comparison of the cleaning results obtained with both laser sources. T2 - Conference 'New Approaches to Book and Paper Conservation - Restoration' CY - Horn, Austria DA - 09.05.2011 KW - Laser cleaning KW - Ablation KW - Laser impact on surfaces KW - Paper KW - Femtosecond laser KW - Nanosecond laser PY - 2011 SN - 978-3-85028-518-6 SP - 519 EP - 532 PB - Verlag Berger, Horn CY - Vienna, Austria AN - OPUS4-23705 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -