Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation (tau = 120 fs, gimel = 800 nm, repetition rate = 1 kHz) of thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on silicon was conducted in air using a direct focusing technique for estimating ablation threshold and investigating the influence of ablation parameter on the morphological features of ablated regions. The single-pulse ablation threshold estimated by two different methods were phi(th)(1) = 2.43 and 2.51 J/cm(2). The morphological changes were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy. A comparison with picosecond pulsed laser ablation shows lower threshold and reduced collateral thermal damage. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.