Diagnostics of particle dynamics during optically functional thin-film deposition by laser ablation

We describe the diagnostics of the particle dynamics during nanoparticle formation by pulsed laser ablation in a background gas. First, we describe the deposition of ZnO nano-structured thin films, along with the results of Rayleigh scattering observation of ZnO nanoparticle formation in the ablation plume. Then, we propose a new imaging technique, called re-decomposition laser-induced fluorescence (ReD-LIF), in order to investigate the early stage of nanoparticle formation in the ablation plume. It was demonstrated experimentally that ReD-LIF can be used to visualize the small clusters that are difficult to observe by means of other methods.