title: Volumetric intensity dependence on the formation of molecular and atomic ions within a high intensity laser focus.
abstract: The mechanism of atomic and molecular ionization in intense, ultra-short laser fields is a subject which continues to receive considerable attention. An inherent difficulty with techniques involving the tight focus of a laser beam is the continuous distribution of intensities contained within the focus, which can vary over several orders of magnitude. The present study adopts time of flight mass spectrometry coupled with a high intensity (8 x 10(15) Wcm(-2)), ultra-short (20 fs) pulse laser in order to investigate the ionization and dissociation of the aromatic molecule benzene-d1 (C(6)H(5)D) as a function of intensity within a focused laser beam, by scanning the laser focus in the direction of propagation, while detecting ions produced only in a "thin" slice (400 and 800 microm) of the focus. The resultant TOF mass spectra varies significantly, highlighting the dependence on the range of specific intensities accessed and their volumetric weightings on the ionization/dissociation pathways accessed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. l.robson@phys.strath.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Robson
authors.forename: Kenneth W D
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Ledingham
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McCanny
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Jiamin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Claes-Göran
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Wahlström
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lopez-Martens
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Varju
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Johnsson
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mauritsson
mesh_terms: D001554:Benzene / Q000737:chemistry; D003903:Deuterium / Q000737:chemistry; D007834:Lasers; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003903:Deuterium; D001554:Benzene