ablated

Ablated is the past participle and adjective derived from the verb ablate. To ablate means to remove material from a surface by processes such as evaporation, melting, chipping, or chemical reaction. The term comes from Latin ablat-, meaning carried away. In general usage, "ablated" describes material or tissue that has undergone ablation or a surface that has been subjected to ablation.

Common domains include medicine, manufacturing, aerospace, and earth sciences. In medicine, ablation refers to destroying or removing tissue to treat conditions, using techniques such as radiofrequency, microwave, laser, or cryoablation; the tissue that has been treated is described as ablated. In materials processing, laser ablation or plasma ablation removes precise amounts of material for micromachining or spectroscopy. In aerospace, ablative heat shields rely on materials that char and erode to absorb heat during reentry; the ablated material carries away heat. In glaciology, ablation denotes net loss of ice from a glacier due to melting, sublimation, or calving.

The term ablated emphasizes removal or destruction achieved by an ablation process, while "ablative" is used for devices or properties that cause ablation or are characteristic of ablation, such as ablative heat shields.