In-situ small-angle x-ray scattering study of nanoparticles in the plasma plume induced by pulsed laser irradiation of metallic targets

Small angle x-ray scattering was used to probe in-situ the formation of nanoparticles in the plasma plume generated by pulsed laser irradiation of a titanium metal surface under atmospheric conditions. The size and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized as function of laser irradiance. Two families of nanoparticles were identified with sizes on the order of 10 and 70 nm, respectively. These results were confirmed by ex-situ transmission electron microscopy experiments. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4703930]