Laser ablation of refractory material, cluster formation and deposition

The mass spectrum of titanium-carbon clusters produced in the gas phase by laser-induced plasma reaction shows that Ti8C12 (met-car) is a stable species, which coexists with TinC2n clusters. But, the transmission electron microscopy measurements indicate that only TiC nanometer crystals with rocksalt-like structure are in the laser-deposited TiC films, and have a mean size of about 50 Å. The scanning electron microscopy observation and the measurement of the film conductivity show that the films are continuous and uniform above a thickness of 40 Å.