Growth of gold overlayers on a clean and oxidized tungsten tip has been studied by Field Emission Microscopy. Gold was deposited by conventional vacuum evaporation (VE) and by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method using a Nd:YAG laser. The effect of the applied deposition method on gold growth was examined and the influence of high-kinetic energy particles produced by PLD in vacuum on the morphology and size of prepared gold nanostructures is discussed. PLD of gold on oxidized tungsten tip resulted in a significant reduction of the oxide layer. Presence of He (similar to 5 mbar) during PLD decreased the kinetic energy of the species arriving at the substrate and resulted in gold growth similar to that we observed for conventional VE. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.