In each experiment 2mm of like chemistry powder was deposited onto the base plates, after
being placed into a Terra Universal atmospheric glovebox. Following the powder placement, the
glovebox was purged with argon until an oxygen content below 50 ppm was achieved. A
1064nm 2kW Nd:YAG laser beam was then focused through a Cambridge Technologies
galvanometer scanner which delivered the beam to the substrate. For both the MARM and
CMSX experiments a predetermined rectangular raster scan pattern was used in the absence of
feedback controls.