title: Threshold photoionization in time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: Multi-photon excitation in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) is shown to lead to threshold ions with defined internal energy. A powerful technique for the production of threshold ions is based on the excitation of high long-lived Rydberg states embedded in the ionization continuum. The Rydberg molecules are separated with suitable separation techniques from ions produced by a direct multi-photon ionization process. Finally, the ionization of the Rydberg molecules in a delayed pulsed electric field leads to threshold ions. This work reviews several separation techniques, and reports on applications of threshold ionization for investigation of the structure, energetics, and dynamics of neutral molecules, molecular cations, and cluster cations.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Julian Erik
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: Hans Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Neusser
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D017785:Photons; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*