The patterning of thin and thick films (100 nm-2 mu m) is performed with excimer laser radiation (lambda = 248 nm, tau = 20 ns, epsilon(max) = 5 J/cm(2)). The laser ablation is investigated for the film systems: Fe0.6Co0.4/SiO2-multilayers, Tb0.4Fe0.6/Fe0.5Co0.5 multilayers and SiNy-layers. The ablation process strongly depends on the film material, film thickness, as well as on the laser parameters such as laser fluence and number of pulses. The influence of using a beam homogenizer on the ablation process is discussed. For applications in microsystem technology, the minimal attainable structure sizes and an appropriate choice of laser parameters are determined. The patterning of SiNy-layers for application in solar cells is investigated.