Keto, John W.2014-03-102017-05-112014-03-102017-05-112009-05http://hdl.handle.net/2152/23467textWe investigate the temperature and size distribution of Ag, Ge, CdSe and ZnS nanoparticles undergoing UV excimer laser pulses. A two laser pulse experiment is designed to monitor nanoparticle size before and after laser interaction. We study HRTEM images and measure the ablation and fluorescence spectra of particles before and after evaporation. Results show that the nanoparticle mean radius decreases from 3.4 ± 0.2 nm to 2.6 ± 0.2 nm, from 4.3 ± 0.1 nm to 3.5 ± 0.1 nm, and from 3.1 ± 0.2 nm to 2.6 ± 0.2 nm for Ag, Ge and CdSe, respectively. No ZnS nanoparticle size reduction was observed. Theoretical models for nanoparticles undergoing laser heating show that temperatures above the bulk and nanoparticle material melting point reduce the nanoparticles size by a factor of 0.3 and suggest recondensation before collection. For CdSe nanoparticles collected on dry substrates and solvents, blue shifted fluorescence (PL) peaks support the size reduction.electronicengCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.Laser Ablation of MicroparticlesLAMHeterostructuresCoreShellsAblation behaviorThesis