Investigation of nanoparticle formation in a plasma produced by femtosecond laser ablation of gold

The formation of nanoparticles in a plasma produced by the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with gold has been investigated. Three different experimental techniques were employed. (i) The plume expansion was characterized using fast imaging with the aid of an intensified charge-coupled device. (ii) The plasma composition was analyzed using time- and space-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. (iii) The ablated material was deposited on mica substrates and analyzed by means of atomic force microscopy. As a result, the size-distribution and the overall number of nanoparticles were determined as a function of the laser energy density incident on the target surface. The detection of particles with sizes in the nanometer range supports theoretical modeling according to which phase explosion is the dominant mechanism of metal ablation by ultrashort laser pulses.