Thin films of metals have been deposited in the large-area Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) Facility at Riso National Laboratory. Thin films of Ag and Ni were deposited with laser pulses from an excimer laser at 248 nm with a rectangular beam spot at a fluence of 10 J/cm(2) on glass substrates of 127 mm diameter positioned 80 turn from the target in vacuum. We have explored the distribution of deposited material on a stationary substrate from a fixed point of impact on the target relative to the substrate. In all cases the angular distribution of the deposited metal layers shows a distinct "flip-over" of the plume. The thickness of the deposited films over the full area has been determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The measured distributions were then compared with analytical expressions. Finally, the angular distribution of the film thickness has been utilized in an algorithm for production of films over large areas. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.