1. History, Scope, and the Future of Laser Ablation -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 History of Laser Ablation Studies and Applications -- References -- 2. Electronic Processes in Laser Ablation of Semiconductors and Insulators -- 2.1 Electronic Mechanisms in Desorption and Ablation -- 2.2 Interaction of Photons with Solids -- 2.3 Electron-Lattice Interactions and the Localized Excited State -- 2.4 Creation and De-Excitation of the Localized Excited State -- 2.5 Survey of Experimental Results -- 2.6 Models of Laser-Induced Desorption -- 2.7 Simulation of Laser Ablation -- 2.8 Summary and Conclusions -- References -- 3. Laser Ablation and Optical Surface Damage -- 3.1 Introductory Remarks -- 3.2 Characteristics of Optical Surface Damage -- 3.3 Possible Causes of Optical Damage -- 3.4 Investigation of Optical Surface Damage Mechanisms -- 3.5 Concluding Remarks -- References -- 4. Pulsed-Laser Deposition of High-Temperature Superconducting Thin Films -- 4.1 Advantages of Pulsed-Laser Deposition -- 4.2 Materials Base -- 4.3 Laser-Beam-Target Interaction -- 4.4 Dynamics of the Laser-Produced Plume -- 4.5 Evaporant-Substrate Interaction -- 4.6 Frontiers of High-Temperature Superconducting Thin-Film Research -- 4.7 Scaling-up to Larger Areas -- 4.8 Future Directions -- 4.9 Summary -- References -- 5. Interaction of Laser Radiation with Organic Polymers -- 5.1 History -- 5.2 Characteristics of UV-Laser Ablation -- 5.3 Chemical Physics of the Ablation Process -- 5.4 Theories of Ultraviolet-Laser Ablation -- 5.5 Contemporary Trends in UV-Laser Ablation -- References -- 6. Laser Ablation and Laser Desorption Techniques with Fourier-Transform Mass Spectrometry (FTMS) -- 6.1 Principles of FTMS Operation -- 6.2 Laser-Ablation FTMS for Clusters -- 6.3 Laser-Desorption FTMS for Biomolecules -- 6.4 Future Directions -- 6.5 Conclusions -- References -- 7. Diagnostic Studies of Laser Ablation for Chemical Analysis -- 7.1 Laser Ablation in Vacuum -- 7.2 Laser Ablation in an Atmosphere -- References.