NbC crystalline films have been deposited in vacuum by ultra-short pulsed laser deposition technique. The films have been characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopies and by X-ray diffraction. To clarify the ablation-deposition mechanism, the plasma produced by the ablation process has been characterized by optical emission spectroscopy and fast imaging. A comparison of the results with those obtained by ns pulsed deposition of the same target has been carried out. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.