Time-of-flight characterization of laser ablation plume from NbTe2 target in He atmosphere

Pulsed laser ablation of a NbTe2 target was performed by an excimer laser in helium atmosphere at different fluences, Ablation plume characterization was realized by optical Time-of-Flight spectroscopy. Velocities and kinetic energies of the ablated particles were determined as a function of the fluence and of the background pressure. We observed an increase of the velocity of Te-2 molecules when increasing the helium pressure, We show that this effect is due to three bodies associative reactions between monoatomic Te species and background gas particles.