The interaction of intense laser pulses with nanometer scale atomic clusters has been an active area of study since the advent of amplified femtosecond lasers. In the case of infrared irradiation of noble gas clusters, direct field-driven ionization results in the ejection of energetic electrons, high ion charge states, and Coulomb explosion of the ion core of the clusters. These processes result from electron motion driven by the cluster potential and the large ponderomotive potential of the laser field. When extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses interact with clusters, the mechanisms responsible for the infrared response are 'turned off' because the ponderomotive potential is very small. We have conducted cluster experiments at 38nm using focused XUV pulses produced by high harmonic generation with a 15TW Ti:Sapphire laser. We measured the charge states and kinetic energy spectra of ions produced in the interaction, and observe substantial ion population up to Xe⁵⁺, with a small number of Xe⁶⁺-Xe⁸⁺ ions produced by collisional ionization by hot plasma electrons. The ion kinetic energy spectrum indicates a hydrodynamic expansion at an ion temperature of 8eV. This is in stark contrast to intense infrared/cluster interactions, where clusters are stripped of electrons to a large degree and expand by Coulomb forces, resulting in far higher ion kinetic energy for similar degrees of ionization. / text

L’objectif de cette thèse est de réaliser des revêtements de nitrure de bore sur différents types de substrats comme le graphite, le quartz, le pyrex, en allant jusqu’aux métaux et en particulier le titane. Le choix de la voie PDCs s’avère intéressant grâce à la maîtrise du précurseur de départ au niveau atomique d’une part et à la facilité du procédé de dépôt, d’autre part. Nos objectifs étaient d’étudier la faisabilité de réaliser des revêtements BN sur différents types de substrat en utilisant un traitement thermique résistif et de mettre en place un dispositif qui nous permette de pyrolyser les films polymériques sur métaux sans dommage pour le substrat, en vue de leur protection contre l’oxydation ou d’autres applications mécaniques. Dans ce sens, nous avons démontré la possibilité d’utiliser un traitement thermique alternatif par lampe halogène émettant dans l’infra-rouge pour densifier les revêtement BN déposer sur substrats métalliques. / The aim of this work was to prepare boron nitride coatings onto different substrates using the Polymers Derived Ceramics (PDCs) approach. In that way, BN coatings were obtained onto graphite, pure silica and metal especially titanium. The first part of this thesis was to study parameters (of the solution used and of the dip-coating process), to obtain the best coatings in terms of morphology, cristallinity and chemical composition. The second part was dedicated to BN coatings obtained onto metal substrates using an alternative thermal treatment allowing the polymer-to-ceramic conversion without any damage for the metal. Actually, annealing by infrared irradiation allows heating only the coating, energy being reflected by the metal.