Patterned articles, such as RFID antenna, are made by subablation, a process comprising the steps of: A. providing a substrate having a
coating, such as a
metal or
metal oxide, and an interface comprising the thin region where the
coating and the substrate are closest to each other; B. exposing at least one part of the total area of the
coating to a flux of electromagnetic energy, Such as a focused
excimer laser beam, sufficient to disrupt the interface but insufficient to ablate the coating, and C. removing the parts of the coating in registry with the portion of the interface area that was disrupted, by means such as ultrasonic agitation. The process has advantages over photo-
resist processes in that there is no residual chemical
resist left on the product and no undercutting of the pattern or image. It has advantages over
laser ablation processes in that higher
throughput is possible at the same
energy level and there is no microscopic debris left on the product surface.