The properties of laser ablated plumes produced in high vacuum by 100 fs Ti: sapphire pulses from a gold solid target were studied. Optical emission spectroscopy showed that the plume was formed by both atomic and non-atomic species in the whole investigated laser intensity range (10(12)-10(13)W/cm(2)), while atomic force microscopy analysis of deposits carried out at room temperature revealed the nanometric size of the non-atomic component, with a mean particle radius of tens of nanometers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.