Copper was selectively deposited on PI surface catalyzed by laser-induced deposition of Ag particles. First, PI film was ablated by a focused Nd:YAG laser (lambda = 266 nm) for patterning, and then the ablated film was immersed in a silver diammine solution. Ag(NH3)(2)(+) ions were reduced to Ag at the ablated region on the film, and the Ag particles were deposited in situ. After rinsing the film, copper was deposited on the seeded film by electroless plating successfully. Deposits and the ablated film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Stylus Profiler. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.