Abstract
Laser‐enhanced electroplating on good heat‐conducting bulk materials is not very effective, as laser‐beam irradiation results in a limited temperature rise only. It is shown, both experimentally and theoretically, that the application of a thin layer of a relatively poor heat‐conducting material may lead to a considerable local temperature increase. The dimensionless parameter determining this effect is given by the product of the ratio of the thermal conductivities of bulk and layer material and that of layer thickness to laser‐spot diameter.