The differences between excimer (≊30 ns pulse duration) and flashlamp‐pumped dye (≊500 ns pulse duration) laser planarization are examined for 1.5–2 &mgr;m thick gold films over SiO2layers. Test structures containing bar patterns (square waves) of 5000 A˚ peak‐to‐trough amplitude with spatial periods ranging from 10 to 100 &mgr;m were prepared and laser irradiated. A linear model is presented which described the time evolution of the film’s surface topography when melted with a dye laser pulse. Excimer laser planarization is found to be susceptible to evaporative recoil effects which may cause undesired pattern amplification.