Abstract :
Ultrashort pulsed laser ablation in vacuum of different targets was performed in order to investigate the possibility of producing nanoparticles
with controlled size and shape. A systematic morphology characterization of deposited products was performed for nickel and silicon as a function
of laser pulse intensity and wavelength, at a fixed pulse repetition rate. The nanoparticles were investigated by atomic force microscopy, and clear
trends for their size and shape anisotropy were evidenced. The best conditions to obtain nanosized particles of oblate ellipsoidal shape, with the
minor axis below 10 nm, were determined in the case of nickel targets. Our results show that ultrashort pulse laser deposition can be considered as
an interesting technique for the tailoring of nanogranular films with the desired particles dimension and shape, according to the peculiar properties
required in specific applications. Moreover, the preliminary features are very promising from the point of view of the production of
magnetoresistive films with specific anisotropy.
