The interaction between laser ablation plumes and a background gas has recently received increased attention due to its importance in pulsed laser deposition and carbon-cluster production. Carbon clusters, like C60 and higher fullerenes are known to be produced by laser ablation of carbon in the presence of an ambient atmosphere. However, there is a great uncertainty as to when and where these clusters are formed within the laser-ablated plume. Moreover, understanding the particle generation in laser ablation plumes is very important for pulsed laser deposition, laser ablation sample introduction in ICP-MS, etc. In the context of carbon clusters, it is articulated that the molecular C2 plays a prominent role in their formation. Laser ablation has the unique advantage that most of these molecules are formed in their excited states, and hence, spectroscopic measurements offer an excellent means to investigate their evolution and dynamics.1,2展开▼
