Plume study by ion probe and morphology control during pulsed laser deposition of Sm1−xNdxNiO3

► We study the effect of oxygen pressure on ion dynamics and films microstructure. ► The ambient oxygen affects the ion dynamics when exceeding a threshold pressure. ► Three ionic components were observed in a certain range of oxygen pressure. ► Clusters formation and deposition were discussed. ► A correlation between the ion dynamics and the films microstructure was obtained.