We demonstrate that a femtosecond laser can be used to machine arbitrary patterns and pattern arrays into free-standing electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes. We also examine the influence of various laser irradiation settings on the final microstructure of electrospun membranes. A beam fluence of 0.6J/cm(2) is used to ablate holes in 100 mu m thick PCL membranes. The machined holes have an average diameter of 436 mu m and a center-to-center spacing of 1000 mu m. Based on these results, the femtosecond ablation of electrospun membranes shows great potential for fabricating a variety of functional tissue scaffolds. This technique will advance scaffold design by providing the ability to rapidly tailor surface morphology, while minimizing and controlling the deformation of the electrospun fibers. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.