Laser-based setup for simultaneous measurement of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity for bulk and thin film thermoelectrics.

In this paper, an original homemade system is presented in detail for the electrical and thermoelectrical characterizations of several types of materials from bulk to thin films. This setup was built using a modulated CO laser beam to probe the thermoelectric properties at different depths below the surface. It allows a simultaneous measurement of the electrical conductivity () and the Seebeck coefficient (), from room temperature up to 250 °C.

Study of cluster anions generated by laser ablation of titanium oxides: a high resolution approach based on Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Laser ablation of titanium oxides at 355 nm and ion-molecule reactions between [(TiO(2))(x)](-•) cluster anions and H(2)O or O(2) were investigated by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS) with an external ion source. The detected anions correspond to [(TiO(2))(x)(H(2)O)(y)OH](-) and [(TiO(2))(x)(H(2)O)(y)O(2)](-•) oxy-hydroxide species with x=1 to 25 and y=1, 2, or 3 and were formed by a two step process: (1) laser ablation, which leads to the formation of [(TiO(2))(x)](-•) cluster anions as was previously reported, and (2) ion-molecule reactions during ion storage. Reactions of some [(TiO(2))(x)](-•) cluster anions with water and dioxygen conducted in the FTICR cell confirm this assessment.

UV laser ablation of GdCa4O(BO3)3 (GdCOB) investigated by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

The ions generated by laser ablation (LA) of calcium and gadolinium oxoborate GdCa4O(BO3)3 (GdCOB) were investigated by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS), a powerful tool for the characterization of ionic species produced by laser interaction with solid material. In order to better understand the matter transfer and the mechanism of thin film growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD), cationic and anionic clusters generated by UV laser ablation of GdCOB bulk material were studied. Laser ablation of GdCOB leads to the formation of various cluster ions which result from association of CaO, BO and B2O3 building blocks (BB) with different charge carriers (CC): H+, BO+, GdO+ in positive ion mode, and BO2-, OK-, OH-, Cl-, WO3- in negative ion mode.