The laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) investigated in this study makes use of a thin metal film deposited at the backside of a transparent sample to achieve etching of the sample surface. For the time-resolved measurements at LIBDE fused silica samples coated with 125 nm tin were used and the reflected and the transmitted laser intensities were recorded with a temporal resolution of about 1 ns during the etching with a similar to 30 ns KrF excimer laser pulse. The laser beam absorption as well as characteristic changes of the reflection of the target surface was calculated in dependence on the laser fluence in the range of 250-2500 mJ/cm(2) and the pulse number from the temporal variations of the reflection and the transmission. The decrease of the time of a characteristic drop in the reflectivity, which can be explained by the ablation of the metal film, correlates with the developed thermal model. However, the very high absorption after the film ablation probably results in very high temperatures near the surface and presumably in the formation of an absorbing plasma. This plasma may contribute to the etching and the surface modification of the substrate. After the first pulse a remaining absorption of the sample was measured that can be discussed by the redeposition of portions of the ablated metal film or can come from the surface modification in the fused silica sample. These near-surface modifications permit laser etching with the second laser pulse, too. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.