During the process of pulsed laser deposition of thin film materials, the impingement of the laser ablated particles onto the substrate increases the substrate temperature. In this work, the energy exchange between the ablated particles and the substrate is analyzed. The substrate temperature rise is studied via a transient two dimensional heat transfer model. In particular, the temperature evolution of silicon and quartz substrates induced by the deposition of carbon and copper films are examined. The effects of experimental conditions on the maximum substrate temperature rise are discussed. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.