Laser Ablation of Ti in N2 Jet: Formation of TiN2+

We observed TiN2+ produced by laser ablation of Ti target in nitrogen jet directly by employing quadrupole mass spectrometry and suggested its optimum structure. The kinetic energy distribution of Ti+ ions was peaked at 103 eV while that of TiN+ ions was at 20.4 eV in our experimental condition. Laser ablation of a solid target has wide applications in both science and technology. In 1980s, we have witnessed the advent of the era of nanotechnology with the discovery of C60 by laser ablation of a graphite targeT- Besides, diverse metal and semiconductor clusters were produced by laser ablation in gas phase and a variety of multi-element thin films with novel properties were realized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD)