A detailed diagnostic study of the interaction of nanosecond laser pulses from the near-ultraviolet into the near-infrared
wavelength range with various types of contemporary and ancient parchments is presented. The advantages of laser
cleaning due to the absence of chemical agents, spectroscopic selectivity, micro-precision, computer-aided handling can
only be verified when physico-chemical diagnostics guarantee destructionless processing. Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) data are correlated with morphological changes in dependence on the laser fluence and wavelength. The
question, to what extent the chemical degradation of collagen is affected by various laser treatment parameters, could be
resolved by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of collagen fibres collected from the outermost laser-exposed
surface layer. It is also shown how Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFT), and
Pyrolysis Capillary Gaschromatography (PY-CGC) can be employed in the chemical diagnostics of laser cleaning of
parchment. This study suggests that the ageing status of parchment artefacts plays a major role in assessing the laser
cleaning limits.
A detailed diagnostic study of the interaction of nanosecond laser pulses from the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared wavelength range with various types of contemporary and ancient parchments is presented. The advantages of laser cleaning due to the absence of chemical agents, spectroscopic selectivity, micro-precision and computer-aided handling can only be verified when physico-chemical diagnostics guarantee destructionless processing. Scanning electron microscopy data are correlated with chemical degradation and morphological changes dependent on the laser fluence and wavelength. It is also shown how transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, and pyrolysis capillary gas chromatography can be employed in the chemical diagnostics of laser cleaning of parchment. This study suggests that the ageing status of parchment artefacts plays a major role in assessing the laser cleaning limits.