title: Femtisecond single-mole infrared spectroscopy of molecular clusters.
abstract: The sensitivity limitations of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the detection of molecular clusters formed in rarefied gas expansions can be overcome by synchronizing intense gas pulses at a low duty cycle with rapid interferometer scans. This turns the broadband FTIR approach into a universal cluster spectroscopy tool applicable from the far (200 cm(-1)) to the near (8000 cm(-1)) IR. It nicely complements more selective and more restricted laser-based techniques and it provides a gas-phase variant of the matrix-isolation method, the main drawback being substance consumption. A survey over the capabilities, limitations and perspectives of this high-throughput nozzle approach to cluster FTIR spectroscopy is given.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Göttingen, Tammannstr. 6, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. msuhm@gwdg.de
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Suhm
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kollipost