Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Lately, we have witnessed a growing concern about determining energy consumption and pollutant emissions. Large part of the energy spent is directly related to the friction and wear. Likewise, there a growing demand for production of mechanical systems of high efficiency. To develop systems that are more economical, noiseless and not harmful to the environment, there is a limit imposed by materials and conventional surface treatment. Thus, critical tribological contacts and possible new materials have been intensively investigated. Solid lubrication and solid lubricants are emerging as a promising alternative to control friction and wear in mechanical systems modern. The use of multifunctional coatings have been studied and used in modern mechanical systems, so that the final properties depend on the system composed of substrate - coating - environment. This study aims to optimize the thickness of multifunctional coatings with potential for use in mechanical systems of high efficiency, particularly on soft substrates. The aim is an optimization using the principles of contact mechanics, together with strength criteria to analyse stress and strain. Efficient techniques to characterize the coatings, and powerful simulation tools in the stress analysis of multifunctional coatings were used. The results showed that the thickness of the coating plays an important role on coating properties. / Ultimamente, tem-se presenciado uma preocupação cada vez mais determinante quanto ao consumo energético e emissões de poluentes. Grande parte da energia gasta está relacionada diretamente com o atrito e o desgaste. Há igualmente uma demanda crescente por produção de sistemas mecânicos de alta eficiência, mas, também, para desenvolver sistemas cada vez mais econômicos, silenciosos e não prejudiciais ao meio ambiente, havendo um limite imposto por materiais e tratamento de superfícies convencionais. Assim, a tribologia de contatos críticos e possíveis novos materiais estão sendo amplamente pesquisados. A lubrificação sólida e lubrificantes sólidos estão aparecendo como uma alternativa promissora para controlar o atrito e o desgaste nos sistemas mecânicos modernos. A utilização de revestimentos multifuncionais tem sido estudada e aplicada nos sistemas mecânicos modernos, de modo que as propriedades finais resultantes sejam dependentes do sistema substrato-revestimento-ambiente. O presente trabalho busca a otimização de tribo revestimentos multifuncionais com potencial para a aplicação em sistemas mecânicos de alta eficiência, particularmente sobre substratos macios. Busca-se essa otimização por meio da análise de tensões e deformações, as quais são compreendidas através do princípio da mecânica do contato, juntamente com os critérios de resistência. Usam-se técnicas de caracterização de revestimentos amplamente usadas e eficientes, como também ferramentas de simulação poderosas na análise de tensões de revestimentos multifuncionais. Os resultados demonstram que a espessura do revestimento tem um papel importante na origem das propriedades do revestimento. / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica

Amorphous, hydrogenated carbon films (a-C:H) have been prepared in a PECVD device from methane and ethine as the source gases.The aim was to deposit films at high growth rates while keeping high hardness (25 ± 3 GPa). Hardness, hydrogen content and surface roughness were investigated dependent on the process conditions. Further investigation showed, that the mechanical properties of the a-C:H films are determined by the energy of the ions and the ratio between the film forming ion and the film forming neutral fluxes. On the basis of the collected data the optimal deposition conditions were determined and suggestions for further improvement of the deposition were made. / Amorphe, wasserstoffhaltige Kohlenstoffschichten (a-C:H) wurden mittels PECVD-Verfahren abgeschieden, wobei Methan und Ethin als Quellgase verwendet wurde. Ziel war dabei die Abscheidung der Schichten mit hohen Aufwachsraten unter Beibehaltung hoher Härten (25 ± 3 GPa). Härte, Wasserstoffgehalt und Oberflächenrauhigkeit der Schichten wurden in Abhängigkeit von den Prozeßbedingungen untersucht. Weitere Untersuchungen zeigten, daß die mechanischen Eigenschaften der a-C:H Schichten von der Energie der Ionen und dem Verhältnis der schichtbildenden Ionen- und Neutralteilchenflüsse bestimmt werden. Auf der Grundlage der gewonnenen Daten können die optimalen Abscheidebedingungen festgelegt, und Vorschläge zur weiteren Verbesserung der Schichtabscheidung gemacht werden.

L’environnement réactif du plasma constitue un outil puissant dans la science des matériaux, permettant la création de matériaux innovatifs et l'amélioration de matériaux existants qui ne serait autrement pas possible.Le plasma fournit simultanément des fluxes de particules chargées, des molécules chimiquement actives, des radicaux, de la chaleur, des photons, qui peuvent fortement influencer les voies d'assemblage à différentes échelles temporelles et spatiales, y compris à l’échelle atomique.Dans cette thèse de doctorat, des méthodes tenant pour base des plasmas micro-ondes ont été utilisées pour la synthèse de nanomatériaux de carbone, y compris graphène, graphène dopé à l'azote (N-graphène) et structures de type diamant.À cette fin, ce travail est lié à optimisation de la synthèse de nanostructures 2D du carbone, comme graphène et N-graphène par la poursuite de l'élaboration et du raffinement de la méthode développée en Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL). La synthèse de graphène de haute qualité et en grandes quantités a été accomplie avec succès en utilisant des plasmas d'Ar-éthanol à ondes de surface dans des conditions de pression ambiante. De plus, le N-graphène a été synthétisé par un procédé en une seule étape, de l'azote a été ajouté au mélange d’Ar-éthanol, et par un procédé en deux étapes, en soumettant des feuilles de graphène préalablement synthétisées ont été exposées à un traitement plasma argon-azote à basse pression. Les atomes d'azote ont été incorporés avec succès dans le réseau de graphène hexagonal, formant principalement liaisons pyrroliques, pyridiniques et quaternaires. Un niveau de dopage de 25 at.% a été atteint.Différents types de nanostructures de carbone, y compris du graphène et des structures de type diamant, ont été synthétisées au moyen d'un plasma d’argon en utilisant du méthane et du dioxyde de carbone comme précurseurs du carbone.De plus, des plasmas à couplage capacitif ont également été utilisés pour la fonctionnalisation du graphène et pour la synthèse de nanocomposites, tels que les composites de Polyaniline (PANI)-graphène. Les utilisations potentielles de ces matériaux ont été étudiées et les deux structures ont démontré avoir des attributs remarquables pour leur application aux biocapteurs. / Plasma environments constitute powerful tools in materials science by allowing the creation of innovative materials and the enhancement of long existing materials that would not otherwise be achievable. The remarkable plasma potential derives from its ability to simultaneously provide dense fluxes of charged particles, chemically active molecules, radicals, heat and photons which may strongly influence the assembly pathways across different temporal and space scales, including the atomic one.In this thesis, microwave plasma-based methods have been applied to the synthesis of advanced carbon nanomaterials including graphene, nitrogen-doped graphene (N-graphene) and diamond-like structures. To this end, the focus was placed on the optimization of the production processes of two-dimensional (2D) carbon nanostructures, such as graphene and N-graphene, by further elaboration and refinement of the microwave plasma-based method developed at the Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL). The scaling up of the synthesis process for high-quality graphene using surface-wave plasmas operating at atmospheric pressure and argon-ethanol mixtures was successfully achieved. Moreover, N-graphene was synthetized via a single-step process, by adding nitrogen to the argon-ethanol mixture, and via two-step process, by submitting previously synthetized graphene to the remote region of a low-pressure argon-nitrogen plasma. Nitrogen atoms were usefully incorporated into the hexagonal graphene lattice, mainly as pyrrolic, pyridinic and quaternary bonds. A doping level of 25% was attained.Different types of carbon nanostructures, including graphene and diamond-like nanostructures, were also produced by using methane and carbon dioxide as carbon precursors in an argon plasma.Additionally, capacitively-coupled radio-frequency plasmas have been employed in the functionalization of graphene and in the synthesis of Polyaniline (PANI)-graphene composites. The potential uses of these materials were studied, with both showing favourable characteristics for their applicability in biosensing applications.

The use of ultracold neutrons (UCN) to study fundamental parameters such as the neutron lifetime and decay correlations in polarized neutron beta decay are poised to make significant contributions to our understand of the Standard Model and its extensions. To this end, the UCNA experiment is pursuing a precision measurement (0.2%) of the angular correlation between the neutron spin and the direction of emission of the electron in polarized neutron decay (the ``A'' asymmetry). The UCNA experiment makes use of the spallation-driven solid deuterium (SD2) UCN source at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). The UCN leave the source and are 100% polarized by passing through a strong magnetic field before their decay is observed by a very sensitive electron spectrometer. UCN guides facilitate the transfer of UCN from the source to the spectrometer. Common guide materials include stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and quartz. Often a thin film is applied to these components to increase their ability to transport/bottle and preserve the polarization of UCN. In the region of the SD2 UCN source, nickel-58 films are applied, whereas once the UCN are polarized, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are employed. This dissertation covers the application, process developments, and characterization of these coatings. In addition a study concerning the surface finish resulting from the mechanical polishing and electropolishing of the guides that make up the UCNA beamline is presented. / Ph. D.

Um dos desafios mais importantes para a indústria de bens eletrônicos de consumo é o desenvolvimento de um dispositivo mostrador de informação (display) que tenda aos requisitos de alta qualidade de imagem, grande área, baixo consumo de energia e baixo custo. O display de comissão de campo (field emission display, ou FED) representa a tecnologia com maior potencial para atender a estes requisitos. No entanto a baixa durabilidade e a baixa confiabilidade dos protótipos baseados em emissores metálicos impedem que esta tecnologia entre no mercado. Neste trabalho, investigam-se duas abordagens que podem representar urna solução para estas deficiências: a melhora do vácuo na câmara de emissão e o emprego de nanotubos de carbono como emissores. No que se refere a melhora das propriedades de vácuo num FED, este trabalho propõe um novo tipo de emissor baseado em uma membrana porosa. Cálculos teóricos referentes as propriedades de vácuo e ao fator de amplificação do campo eletrostático são apresentados para esta nova configuração, sendo proposto um modelo para determinar o limite superior do fator de amplificação do campo. No que se refere a parte experimental, e demonstrado que membranas porosas de diamante de fato funcionam como emissores, de acordo com a proposta. O desempenho destas membranas e comparado com o de condutores metálicos planos, com e sem um recobrimento de diamond-like carbon. São apresentadas imagens dos spots de emissão em poros, e um estudo da estabilidade de emissão de longo prazo e realizado. No que se refere aos nanotubos de carbono este trabalho propõe um novo processo de tratamento dos nanotubos em arco de plasma que resulta em melhora das propriedades de emissão destas estruturas. Um estudo da estabilidade de emissão dos nanotubos também e apresentado, sendo que uma degradação sistemática da emissão e relatada para o caso de nanotubos mono-parede (single-wall). / One of the most important challenges to the electronics industry is the production of a flat panel display which fulfills the requirements of high quality image, large area low power and low cost. Field Emission Display (FED) is the technology in best conditions to face these requirements. However, the short lifetime and low reliability of FED prototypes based on metallic emitters are hindering this technology to get into the market. In this work we investigate two different approaches that could represent a solution for these problems: improvement of the vacuum characteristics inside the emission chamber and use of carbon nanotubes as emitters. With respect to the improvement of vacuun in a FED, this work proposes a new type of emitter based on a porous diamond membrane. Theoretical calculations referent to the vacuum properties and referent to electrostatic field enhancement factor are presented. A new model is proposed to determine the superior limit for the eletrostatic field enhancement factor in a porous emitter. With respect to the experimental part of this work, we show that diamond porous membranes indeed emit electrons, according to the original proposition. The emission performance of these membranes is compared to the performance of flat metalic emitters, coated or Dot with diamond-like carbon. Images of emission spots in pores and a study of the long term membrane emission stability are presented. With respect to carbon nanotubes this work presents a. new treatment process, under plasma arc, that resulted in emission improvement. A study all emission stability of nanotubes is also presented, and systematical emission decay is reported for single-wall nanotubes.

Um dos desafios mais importantes para a indústria de bens eletrônicos de consumo é o desenvolvimento de um dispositivo mostrador de informação (display) que tenda aos requisitos de alta qualidade de imagem, grande área, baixo consumo de energia e baixo custo. O display de comissão de campo (field emission display, ou FED) representa a tecnologia com maior potencial para atender a estes requisitos. No entanto a baixa durabilidade e a baixa confiabilidade dos protótipos baseados em emissores metálicos impedem que esta tecnologia entre no mercado. Neste trabalho, investigam-se duas abordagens que podem representar urna solução para estas deficiências: a melhora do vácuo na câmara de emissão e o emprego de nanotubos de carbono como emissores. No que se refere a melhora das propriedades de vácuo num FED, este trabalho propõe um novo tipo de emissor baseado em uma membrana porosa. Cálculos teóricos referentes as propriedades de vácuo e ao fator de amplificação do campo eletrostático são apresentados para esta nova configuração, sendo proposto um modelo para determinar o limite superior do fator de amplificação do campo. No que se refere a parte experimental, e demonstrado que membranas porosas de diamante de fato funcionam como emissores, de acordo com a proposta. O desempenho destas membranas e comparado com o de condutores metálicos planos, com e sem um recobrimento de diamond-like carbon. São apresentadas imagens dos spots de emissão em poros, e um estudo da estabilidade de emissão de longo prazo e realizado. No que se refere aos nanotubos de carbono este trabalho propõe um novo processo de tratamento dos nanotubos em arco de plasma que resulta em melhora das propriedades de emissão destas estruturas. Um estudo da estabilidade de emissão dos nanotubos também e apresentado, sendo que uma degradação sistemática da emissão e relatada para o caso de nanotubos mono-parede (single-wall). / One of the most important challenges to the electronics industry is the production of a flat panel display which fulfills the requirements of high quality image, large area low power and low cost. Field Emission Display (FED) is the technology in best conditions to face these requirements. However, the short lifetime and low reliability of FED prototypes based on metallic emitters are hindering this technology to get into the market. In this work we investigate two different approaches that could represent a solution for these problems: improvement of the vacuum characteristics inside the emission chamber and use of carbon nanotubes as emitters. With respect to the improvement of vacuun in a FED, this work proposes a new type of emitter based on a porous diamond membrane. Theoretical calculations referent to the vacuum properties and referent to electrostatic field enhancement factor are presented. A new model is proposed to determine the superior limit for the eletrostatic field enhancement factor in a porous emitter. With respect to the experimental part of this work, we show that diamond porous membranes indeed emit electrons, according to the original proposition. The emission performance of these membranes is compared to the performance of flat metalic emitters, coated or Dot with diamond-like carbon. Images of emission spots in pores and a study of the long term membrane emission stability are presented. With respect to carbon nanotubes this work presents a. new treatment process, under plasma arc, that resulted in emission improvement. A study all emission stability of nanotubes is also presented, and systematical emission decay is reported for single-wall nanotubes.

Amélioration des propriétés des couches minces de carbone amorphe (appelé Diamond Like Carbon, DLC) et recherche de nouvelles fonctionnalités pour ce type de couches minces en dopant les films DLC par des métaux comme le nickel et le tantale.<br />L'ablation laser en régime femtoseconde est la technique utilisée pour la synthèse des couches minces de DLC dopées ou alliées. Ce sujet met également en évidence l'apport de cette technique sur les propriétés morpho-structurales et physiques des DLC dopés ou alliés.

Amorphous carbon film with Diamond like properties is the subject of intense interest in the past one and half decade. The unusual properties of these diamond like carbon films arise from the preponderance of SP3 tetrahedral bonding of carbon in the film. Depending on the processing technique and the processing conditions used, the structure of the films can range from amorphous carbon to large grain polycrystalline diamond. These deposited amorphous carbon films, which are smooth, may find their use in optoelectronics, in dielectric films and in microelectronics. These films are found to be chemically inhomogeneous(containing SP3 hybridized carbon in a matrix of SP2 hybridized non-graphitic carbon). There is a possibility of using these films as substrates in microelectronics, provided the deposited films are structurally smooth, are chemically homogeneous and are dopable with both types of impurities. A host of other advantages of using diamond like carbon as a substrate material in microelectronics made it a topic of interest to many investigators. This prompted the author to take up investigations on diamond like carbon films from the point of examining the electrical properties of these films and on the possibility of conceiving devices based on these films. This investigation dealt with, sputter deposition of diamond like carbon films and their electrical characteristics in MCS device structures. In this, emphasis is given to the importance of processing parameters involved and the effect of each parameter on the electrical and structural properties of the film. Various substrate treatments were done prior to sputtering and found that the DLC nature of the film exists in all the films but differ from one another in electrical resistivity, in nucleation density and in their adherence to the substrate. Films deposited on substrates treated with low vapour pressure oil resulted in compressive strain in the film and lead to very poor adhesion. The nucleation density increased when the substrates are pretreated with ultrasonic agitation in hard SiC grit. The substrate temperature had a direct impact on the resistivity of the film: resistivity decreases with increase in substrate temperature. The constituents of the plasma modified the structural properties of the film, e.g. the Hydrogen content in the plasma has resulted in increasing the SP3 hybridization content of the film, by acting as SP2- SP2 network terminator. Ultra violet light focused onto the substrate, in general, enhanced the deposition rate. Inclusion of Nitrogen in the plasma substantially increased the conductivity of the material and this is used in doping of the DLC film. The carbon films deposited on silicon are used for electrical characterisation. Deposition of metal electrode on the carbon film lead to the basic (MCS) device structure. The I vs.V characteristics of the MCS structure resemble those of junction diodes. From the I vs.V characteristics at different temperatures, it has been found that the reverse current goes through a maximum, drops back to certain level and once again increases with gradual increase in temperature. This behaviour of the structure with A1 as well as Ag as top electrode materials is explained by the heterojunction formed at the C-pSi interface. The initial increase in the reverse current is dominated by the drift of minority carriers across the depletion width at the reverse biased junction. With increase in temperature, the depletion width reduces to a minimum above a certain temperature, where the diffusion of carriers controls the current across the device. From the constructed energy-band diagram of heterojunction, it is shown that the change in the transport phenomena from drift of minority carriers to diffusion of majority carriers at the junction, introduces a barrier at the critical temperature; This is responsible for the drop in current at the critical temperature. This explains the anomaly of drop in reverse current with increase in temperature. The C vs. v characteristics showed a bell shaped behaviour indicating the presence of two junctions connected back to back. This confirms the type of contact formed at the metal-carbon interface and the type of conductivity of the film, concluding that A1 makes a Schottky contact where as Ag makes an ohmic contact and the deposited film behaves like n-type material. The C vs. V behaviour with temperature is explained by the two types of contacts in the case of Al-GpSi, i.e. Schottky contact at Al-C; and heterojunction at C-pSi interface. These C vs. V and I vs.V changes with temperature are in tune with each other and the model proposed takes care of all the characteristics observed. In case of Ag-GpSi, C vs. V with temperature shows junction like behaviour at elevated temperatures and are explained by the presence of the interface at C-pSi. It has been observed that in some of the carbon films, when an electric field of the order of l06 V/cm is applied, the reflectance of the Aluminium metal dot is increased by 5 times, coupled with a 50 to 100 times increase in the associated capacitance of the MCS structure. The increase in reflectance is explained by considering the film to be inhomogeneous with a matrix of varying dielectric constants (SP3 hybridized carbon in a medium of SP2 bonded carbon). The transformed film, is homogeneous and enhances the reflectance of the Aluminium dot. This is termed as "homogeneity induced smoothness." The transformation of inhomogeneous material to homogeneous material is further confirmed by the Raman spectroscopy, in which the broad peak is converted to a sharp peak changing the FWHM from 93 cm-1 to 4 cm-1 ; denoting the structural order in the film. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation reporting the crystalline nature of the DLC, with structural order and the corresponding FWHM of the Raman peak as low as 4 cm-1. The preparational conditions of the film to get this transformation and the influence of various process parameters are examined. Devices based on Metal-Carbon-Oxide- Silicon (MCOS) structure are realized by thermally grown oxide/sputter deposited oxide on silicon, prior to carbon deposition. These structures showed voltage controlled negative resistance(VCNR) characteristics. The applied voltage and its distribution across the reverse biased junction and across the oxide gives rise to a negative resistance region. With the number of V vs. I characteristics measured, it is observed that the negative resistance region also shifts. This is attributed to the trapped charges in the carbon changing the distribution of applied voltage. This is explained by modifying the energy-band diagram. A concept of the accumalated charges at the oxide barrier filling up the higher energy states in the carbon and silicon, to become hot carriers is used. As long a. more voltage is dropped across the oxide, these hot carriers can surmount the barrier at the reverse biased junction. The flow of these carriers is cut off when the additional voltage is dropped across the reverse biased junction leading to a drop in the current. A further increase in the applied voltage nominally increases the current due to increase in the leakage current. A new hybrid (electrical/optical) read only memory (ROM) element is conceived and the way in which the information can be written and read is discussed. A two terminal negative resistance device using MCOS structure is fabricated and tested for its VCNR property. An analog memory device is proposed using the MCOS structure as gate in an FET. The work reported in this thesis has been divided into nine chapters. The introductory remarks on the importance of the area of research and about the work reported in this thesis are given in chapter one. Chapter two deals with some of the basic concepts related to understand the reported work. In chapter three the research work done by other investigators covering different aspects of this work is reported and some of their investigations are reviewed. Chapter four dealt with the various preparative techniques to deposit films, their structural characterisation, and the experimental work carried out to electrically characterize these films. Chapter five presents the I vs.V & C vs. V analysis and a model to qualitatively explain them. In chapter six field induced transformation phenomena of some of these films and its impact on the reflectance of the metal dot is dealt. Chapter seven consists of the MCOS device structure, its I vs.V characteristics and a model to explain the behaviour. Chapter eight presents the application part of same of the phenomena observed in conceiving a new hybrid ROM element and a two terminal negative resistance device. The concluding ninth chapter itemizes the important results of the work and suggestions to carry forward this work which can open up new vistas in the diamond like carbon film based technology and its applications in microelectronics.

Die Bestrahlung von tetraedrisch amorphen Kohlenstoff (ta-C) mit schnellen schweren Ionen führt zur Bildung von mikroskopischen elektrisch leitfähigen Ionenspuren mit Durchmessern um 10 nm. Dieses Phänomen ist auf das sp² zu sp³ Hybridisierungsverhältnis des amorphen Kohlenstoffes zurückzuführen. Das einschlagende Ion deponiert eine große Menge Energie innerhalb des Spurvolumens, so dass eine Materialtransformation hin zu höheren sp² Hybridisierung stattfindet. Hierdurch wird die elektrische Leitfähigkeit der Ionenspur stark erhöht. Dieser Effekt kann durch die Zugabe von Verunreinigungen wie Kupfer verstärkt werden. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die umfassende Analyse des elektrischen Verhaltens von ta-C mit besonderen Augenmerk auf die Auswirkungen von Kupferverunreinigungen und Ionenspuren. Der Effekt von Kupferverunreinigungen auf das wichtige Hybridisierungsverhältnis vom amorphen Kohlenstoff wird vermessen. Darüber hinaus wurden alle Proben elektrisch mit makroskopischen Kontakten im Temperaturbeireich von 20 K bis 380 K analysiert. Mikroskopisch wurden einzelne leitfähige Ionenspuren mit Hilfe von atomarer Kraftmikroskopie betrachtet. Die statistische Verteilung der Spureigenschaften in Kohlenstofffilmen mit verschiedenen Kupferkonzentrationen werden verglichen, um die Spurbildung besser zu verstehen. Die normalisierten durchschnittlichen Spurleitfähigkeiten aus mikroskopischen und makroskopischen Messungen werden verglichen. Hierbei kann die Zuverlässigkeit der beiden experimentellen Methoden bewertet werden und mögliche Fehlerquellen ausfindig gemacht werden. Schließlich wird ein Konzept für eine Anwendung unterbrochener Ionenspuren gezeigt.

Ce travail explore le contrôle de la composition et la cinétique du panache d'ablation laser en régime ultrabref par mise en forme temporelle des impulsions laser femtoseconde. L'objectif est l'optimisation du dépôt de couches minces et de nanoparticules. Le chapitre 1 est une synthèse de la littérature sur le dépôt de couches minces par ablation laser femtoseconde, en particulier de films de Diamond-Like Carbon et de nanoparticules. L'influence de la mise en forme temporelle du laser sur les mécanismes d'ablation est développée, ainsi que le diagnostic du panache d'ablation. Le chapitre 2 présente les dispositifs expérimentaux de mise en forme temporelle et de diagnostic du panache d'ablation par spectroscopie d'émission résolue en temps et espace et spectroscopie d'extinction. Le chapitre 3 rapporte l'impact de l'utilisation d'impulsions doubles et élargies sur les panaches de l'aluminium et du bore. L'augmentation de la composante ionique du plasma d'aluminium est expliquée au travers de simulations hydrodynamiques. Dans le chapitre 4, différentes formes temporelles sont employées pour l'ablation du graphite et le dépôt de couches de Diamond-Like Carbon. Le contrôle de la cinétique du panache est atteint en peuplant plus ou moins ses différentes composantes de vitesse : molécules, atomes et ions. Si la structure du Diamond-Like Carbon déposé n'est pas affectée, une amélioration de la surface des couches est observée. Le chapitre 5 montre l'efficacité et la sensibilité de la spectroscopie d'extinction optique pour la mesure in situ de la distribution en taille des nanoparticules métalliques dans le panache d'ablation laser femtoseconde