The local stimulation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) growth at the laser-modified sites that have been obtained by excimer laser irradiation at 248 nm causing a local surface modification has been investigated by two different processing methods. The influence of the laser processing parameters on the CNT growth is compared for the irradiation of thin spin-coated iron nitrate films on silicon substrates and the backside irradiation of a fused silica substrate being in contact with an iron nitrate solution. Both techniques cause the formation of catalytic surface sites either by decomposition of the film or by deposition from the solution. For both laser modification approaches the local growth of vertical aligned nanotubes has been observed. In the case of spin-coated film the laser irradiation conditions have only a small influence on the CNT growth whereas at backside modification by means of a solution a strong dependence on the laser processing parameters has been found. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.