Influences of preparation conditions on laser-ablated Si nano-particle formation processes observed by imaging laser spectroscopy

The behaviors of atomic species and nano-particles in the laser-ablated plume were investigated by two-dimensional laser-induced fluorescence 2D-LIF.and UV Rayleigh scattering 2D-RS.imaging techniques. The images observed in the ablation of silicon Si. in a He ambient are presented for various processing conditions. The temporal behavior of Si2 molecules, which were generated by the clustering of Si atoms, was also investigated. q1998 Elsevier Science B.V.