Production and characterization of Ti:sapphire thin films grown by reactive laser ablation with elemental precursors.

Crystalline Ti:sapphire (Ti:Al(2)O(3)) thin films were grown at low temperatures upon Al(2)O(3) (0001) substrates by reactive crossed-beam laser ablation at 248 nm by use of a liquid Ti-Al alloy target and O(2) . The films were investigated ex situ by x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Low-temperature luminescence was identical to that for Ti(3+) ions in bulk samples of Al(2)O(3) .

Determination of isotopic ratio of boron in boric acid using laser mass spectrometry.

A reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RTOFMS) with a laser ablation ion source was used to determine the isotopic ratio of 10B/11B present in boric acid solutions, using graphite as the matrix. The atom % 10B values obtained were within +/-1% of the actual ones. The determination of the boron isotopic ratio using this method is, in comparison to other methods, faster, less expensive and easier to perform.