Laser-induced plasma micromachining

A method and system (100, 200) for laser ablating a target material (13, 350, 360) in an ambient atmosphere are disclosed. The method includes generating one or more laser pulses, each of the laser pulses having a pulse width of 1 picosecond (ps) or less and a pulse energy of 100 micro joules ( mu J) or more. The laser pulses are directed towards the target material (13, 350, 360) such that the laser pulses interact with a gas to form a plasma (30). The plasma removes a portion of the target material by interaction of the plasma (30) with the target material (360).