Developments in laser technology, especially short pulses, high power densities and reductions in price, all translated into a higher acceptance and utilization of PLD. Nevertheless, it is still restricted as the origin of the deposited material is a small and isolated area, while the production of functional coatings on large and complex shaped substrates is associated with sophisticated manipulation systems.
However, the formation of coatings on inner walls in restricted geometries is possible .
Considerable effort was invested in reducing the available laser pulse length in PLD towards the
femtosecond regime while maintaining the pulse energy. For such short pulses, no interaction of the
laser beam with the ejected material is encountered, thus avoiding complicated secondary
processes [72]. However, when reducing the pulse lengths to femtoseconds a change in the underlying
physics of ablation and increased nanoparticle generation is observed, which can be an interesting goal
itself while being more than a nuisance in thin film deposition.