Temporal emission profiles of YO molecule produced by laser ablation of yttrium-containing oxides have been measured in various ambient gases. Regardless of the kind of the ambient gas, the YO emission intensity is decreased with decreasing gas pressure. However, observed temporal behaviors differ significantly depending on the ambient gas. For O-2 and CO2, similar profiles have been observed, while for non-oxide gases (He and N-2) observed profiles are quite different from each other and also from those for oxide gases. This kind of measurement is very simple and useful for probing the dynamics of the ablation and postablation processes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.