Sub-picosecond laser ionization of free C60 and C70 at 248 nm

Delayed ionization is found to be absent for sub-picosecond laser excitation of free C₆₀ and C₇₀ at 248 nm. The autocorrelation trace obtained for C ₆₀ ⁺ in a laser time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer using two time-delayed and collinear 248 nm ultrashort laser pulses has a width of 1.1 ps (715 fs for sech² pulses), in agreement with the laser pulse duration measurement in NO gas. Both above observations can be explained by direct ionization of C₆₀ via coherent two-photon absorption by the high intensity sub-picosecond 248 nm laser excitation avoiding the channel leading to delayed ionization.     

Excimer Laser Crystallization of SnO2:Sb Sol-Gel Films

Instead of classical or rapid thermal annealing, KrF excimer laser irradiation has been successfully applied to crystallize dried SnO₂:Sb films elaborated by a sol-gel process. The penetration of the crystallization front below the film surface, as imaged by transmission electron microscopy, is controlled by the laser fluence and the number of pulses and can thus be confined in the film itself without affecting sensitive substrates. All films laser irradiated at fluences higher than 40 mJ/cm² become conductive. At constant laser fluence, the electrical sheet resistance goes through a minimum with increasing number of pulses. The consequence of film's densification and morphology on electrical properties is discussed.     

SnO2/SiO2 and Sn/Sb-oxide/SiO2 gel-derived composites. Part 1: Structural evolution from a Mössbauer study

The lasing photostability of the red perylimide dye (RPD) in various solid matrices was measured under frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser excitation. The RPD: composite glass laser intensity decayed to 50% of its initial value after approximately 20,000 pump pulses of 13 mJ/pulse. The output of RPD:ormosil glass and RPD:PMMA glass lasers decayed to 50% of their initial value after 1,200 and 1,000 pump pulses of the same energy, respectively. For rhodamine-6G:silica-gel and rhodamine-6G:ormosil glass lasers, the 50% decay occurred already after 1,000 and 300 pulses, respectively. The decay was non-exponential, suggesting that the dye bleaching was not a single-photon process. The average laser output decay rates increased linearly with the pump energy. Singlet-singlet excited state absorption of the RPD dye in the solid matrices was also measured between 550 and 730 nm. At ～600 nm the cross section was ～2×10^?16 cm²/molecule. The excited-state absorption competes with the lasing, and is a main factor that limits the laser efficiency.     

AES investigations of the iron surface composition after laser irradiation under atmospheric conditions

The laser induced modification of iron surfaces with atmospheric species was investigated by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Different laser systems were used for irradiating iron samples in a wide range of the laser processing parameters up to small foci and ultra short pulses.A nitriding of iron connected with an oxidation of the near surface region was observed in the wavelength range between 193 nm and 10.6 m using large foci (0.1 cm²) and short pulses (10...1400ns). In case of small foci (7·10^–6cm²) with ns-pulses (50 ns) an enrichment of the iron melt with nitrogen and an advanced oxidation of the surrounding area of the laser spot were detected. When using shorter pulses (200 fs, 40 ps) no indications for a nitriding were found.     

Multiple infrared photon dissociation of vinyl chloride

Dehydrohalogenation of vinyl chloride, to form acetylene and HCL, is produced by irradiation with infrared laser pulses in the 9–11 μm region. The acetylene itself is broken down to yield diacetylene and elemental carbon and hydrogen when irradiated by focussed laser pulses. Initial excitation into vibrational modes of different symmetry appears to be about equally effective in converting absorbed energy to chemical reaction. The results are analyzed in terms of several models for multiple infrared photon dissociation; threshold energies of 20· 50 J/cm² are deduced.     

Infrared multiphoton excitation of SO2 to fluorescent states

SO₂ molecules excited under essentially collision-free conditions by intense (>20 G/Wcm²) CO₂ laser pulses give off a broad UV—visible luminescence through inverse electronic relaxation. Unlike in larger polyatomics, the infrared multiphoton excitation process is controlled by the laser intensity and not the laser fluence.     

On the stoichiometry of mass transfer from solid to plasma during pulsed laser ablation of brass

We have performed spectroscopic analysis of the plasma produced by pulsed laser ablation of brass in a low pressure argon atmosphere. The intensities of several spectral lines of copper, zinc and lead were measured for succeeding laser pulses applied to the same irradiation site. The intensities and spectral shapes of the observed transitions were compared to the spectral radiance computed for plasma in local thermal equilibrium. At a delay of 600 ns after the laser pulse, the plasma is characterized by typical values of temperature and electron density of 1.1 × 10⁴ K and 1.2 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3, respectively, and an elemental composition equal to that of the sample. Small changes of spectral line intensities were observed with increasing number of applied laser pulses. They were attributed to the alteration of the plume expansion dynamics as a consequence of crater formation on the sample surface. The results indicate that the mass transfer from the solid to the plasma is stoichiometric.     

Metal particles produced by laser ablation for ICP-MS measurements

Pulsed laser ablation (266 nm) was used to generate metal particles of Zn and Al alloys using femtosecond (150 fs) and nanosecond (4 ns) laser pulses with identical fluences of 50 J cm⁻². Characterization of particles and correlation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) performance was investigated. Particles produced by nanosecond laser ablation were mainly primary particles with irregular shape and hard agglomerates (without internal voids). Particles produced by femtosecond laser ablation consisted of spherical primary particles and soft agglomerates formed from numerous small particles. Examination of the craters by white light interferometric microscopy showed that there is a rim of material surrounding the craters formed after nanosecond laser ablation. The determination of the crater volume by white light interferometric microscopy, considering the rim of material surrounding ablation craters, revealed that the volume ratio (fs/ns) of the craters on the selected samples was approximately 9 (Zn), 7 (NIST627 alloy) and 5 (NIST1711 alloy) times more ablated mass with femtosecond pulsed ablation compared to nanosecond pulsed ablation. In addition, an increase of Al concentration from 0 to 5% in Zn base alloys caused a large increase in the diameter of the particles, up to 65% while using nanosecond laser pulses. When the ablated particles were carried in argon into an ICP-MS, the Zn and Al signals intensities were greater by factors of ∼50 and ∼12 for fs versus ns ablation. Femtosecond pulsed ablation also reduced temporal fluctuations in the ⁶⁶Zn transient signal by a factor of 10 compared to nanosecond laser pulses.     

Optical Nonlinearities of Phthalocyanines and Naphthalocyanines

The nonlinear absorption and refraction of soluble phthalocyanines and naphthalocyanines have been measured with z-scan technique using 8 ns, 532 nm laser pulses. The excited-state absorption cross-section and the excited-state refractive-index cross section have been estimated under the consideration of laser induced thermal effect. The excited state absorption induced n2 and Re χ⁽³⁾ values are in the range of 10^?12 esu. These observed data are enhanced by the concentrations of both metal substituted Pc's and Nc's, but this increment became very small for the metal free phthalocyanine. During the optical limiting experiments, a 25% linear transmitted solution of R₈PcH² can limit laser pulses to ≤ 120 μJ from incident energies as high as 2.0 mJ, and this limitation moved down to ≤ 50 μJ when replacing R₈PcCu from P₈PcH₂. A similar property has also been observed for the metal substituted naphthalocyanines. The results indicate that both the nonlinear refraction and optical limiting properties should be strongly affected by the metal induced triplet-state nonlinear absorption in both Pc's and Nc's. Moreover, the laser pulses created a self trapped filament inside the solution of this optical limiter, while emitting time-resolved, concentric rings on a projection screen, which could be induced by the thermal lensing effect. The various optical nonlinear properties observed from these materials should make them valuable as an optical limiter.     

Ablative photodecomposition of polymer films by pulsed far-ultraviolet (193 nm) laser radiation: Dependence of etch depth on experimental conditions

Data on the ablative photodecomposition of three condensation polymers [polyimide, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polycarbonate] and one addition polymer (polymethyl methacrylate) by laser pulses at 193 nm are presented. The etch depth/pulse is a linear function of the number of pulses at constant laser fluence. It varies with the logarithm of the fluence in a linear manner at different fluences. The etch depth is independent of the atmosphere above the film, whether it is air at 1 atm, or a vacuum. The etching of PMMA at fluences > 100 mJ/cm² is believed to follow a mechanism different from the process at lower fluences. Etching of polyimide and polyethylene terephthalate at 248 and 308 nm is also reported. The mechanism of etching by laser radiation may receive greater contribution from a thermal process with increasing wavelength. This is manifested in the etch depth versus log fluence plot by sharp changes in slope.     

HCO radical kinetics: Conjunction of laser photolysis and intracavity dye laser spectroscopy

HCO radical at a concentration of about 10¹⁴ cm^?3 is produced by monochromatic laser photolysis of H₂CO with a 0.6 mJ frequency-doubled, flashlamp-pumped dye laser pulse. Intracavity dye laser spectroscopy quantitatively monitors HCO absorbance near 614 nm as a function of delay time between photolysis and probing pulses. Rate constants for HCO + O₂ and HCO + NO are found to be 4.0 ± 0.8 × 10^?12 and 1.45 ± 0.2 × 10^?11 cm³ molecule^?1 sec^?1.     

Laser evaporation and condensation of Er in hydrogen and inert atmosphere

Er, condensing under Ar at room temperature after exposure to laser pulses, forms with particle sizes of approximately 1.25 × 10^?8 to 5.0 × 10^?8 m. When this process is carried out under hydrogen atmosphere the dihydride is formed.     

Measurement of uranium isotope ratios in solid samples using laser ablation and diode laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A diode laser is used for the selective excitation of ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U in a laser-induced plasma applying Nd:YAG laser pulses to UO₂ samples. The diode laser is rapidly scanned immediately following each laser sampling and the resonance atomic fluorescence spectrum for both isotopes is obtained on a pulse-to-pulse basis. Time-integrated measurements, with the diode laser fixed at either isotope, were also made. Optimum signal-to-noise was obtained at a distance of 0.8 cm from the sample surface, a pressure of 0.9 mbar and a Nd:YAG laser pulse energy of 0.5 mJ (880 MW cm⁻²). Three samples with 0.204, 0.407 and 0.714% ²³⁵U were measured. For example, for the UO₂ pellet with the natural uranium isotopic composition (99.281% ²³⁸U and 0.714% ²³⁵U), the accuracy and precision were 7% and 5% (460 shots), respectively, limited by the continuum emission background from the laser-induced plasma.     

Investigation on Spectroscopic and Laser Properties of Pyrromethene and Perylene Chromophores in Elastic Polymeric Hosts

In this work, two types of chromophore i.e. the pyrromethene and perylene families dyes were doped into elastic polymeric host materials based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which had been widely employed in various applications. The solubilities, spectroscopic and laser properties of these dyes doped into PDMS matrices were systematically investigated. Tunable laser output with high conversion efficiencies and low laser thresholds were observed and calculated. The laser longevity of pyrromethene dyes doped in PDMS matrices could exceed 1 × 10⁵ pulses through a fast self‐recovery on the laser output with the elapse of aging time. The efficient and stable laser output of the dopants and the flexibility of the PDMS host provided the feasibility of such gain media as mechanically tunable laser sources, which might be employed as cost‐effective components on integrated bio‐chips.     

LASER-LIGHT INDUCED CHROMOSOME ABERRATIONS IN CHINESE HAMSTER CELLS

Wild-type Chinese hamster cells CHO Kl and their radiosensitive mutant xrs5 were irradiated at 308 nm, using light pulses of a XeCl excimer laser with total energy fluences of 0.1 kj/m² to 4.08 kj/m². Chromosome-type and chromatid-type chromosome aberrations have been observed at pulse irradiances of 2.5 × 10⁷ W/m² and 1.7 × 10⁸ W/m², indicating that in mammalian cells DNA double-strand breaks occur already in this irradiance range. The results obtained with laser irradiation are compared with X-ray irradiation.     

Electron response of metallic clusters to strong laser pulses and energetic ion collisons

We investigate the electron dynamics of Na₉ ⁺ excited by strong fs laser pulses and fast proton collisions. Non-perturbative numerical simulations are performed using time-dependent density-functional methods on a semiclassical and fully quantal level. Both excitation mechanisms induce pronounced dipole oscillations accompanied by rapid ionization.     

Multiphoton ionization of magnesium and calcium atoms by short and intense laser pulses

Single and double ionization of magnesium and calcium atoms following Nd: YAG laser multiphoton excitation at 1064 and 532 nm have been studied by employing pulses of 35 ps and 200 ps duration at intensities of the order of 10¹⁰–2×10¹³ W/cm². The dependence of ion formation on the laser intensity has been measured and the slopes of the linear parts of the log-log plots and the ratios of saturation intensities for two pulse durations have been compared with the predictions of the scaling law. No evidence for a pure direct double ionization process has been obtained.     

Measurement of radiative lifetimes and collisional quenching rates of HgX(B) (X = I,Br, Cl) by VUV photolysis of HgX2

The HgX¹(B) states were excited by photodissociation of HgX₂ by a powerful VUV xenon laser. Saturation of the photodissociation process produces very short excitation pulses and has enabled accurate measurements of radiative lifetimes and collisional quenching rate with argon and xenon to be made.     

Laser Sculpting of Atomic sp,sp2, and sp3 Hybrid Orbitals

Atomic sp, sp², and sp³ hybrid orbitals were introduced by Linus Pauling to explain the nature of the chemical bond. Quantum dynamics simulations show that they can be sculpted by means of a selective series of coherent laser pulses, starting from the 1s orbital of the hydrogen atom. Laser hybridization generates atoms with state‐selective electric dipoles, opening up new possibilities for the study of chemical reaction dynamics and heterogeneous catalysis.     

Molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions for H2 ionization by single and trains of attosecond XUV laser pulses

The delayed autoionization of H₂ doubly excited states into channels of different inversion symmetry gerade and ungerade is investigated by using pulses of attosecond duration (isolated or packed in trains), linearly polarized along the molecular axis. It has been shown in previous work, by using XUV laser pulses with durations of 4 fs or longer, that the molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions (MFPAD) associated with the dissociative channel H⁺ + H(n?) are not symmetric with respect to the inversion center of the molecule. In contrast, the MFPADs become symmetric for shorter fs pulses. Here we show that, although this is still the case for pulses of attosecond duration, the combination of two of these pulses with a controlled time delay may still lead to asymmetric MFPADs. From the analysis of the time evolution of the calculated MFPADs, we propose a way to elucidate autoionization lifetimes of molecular resonant states. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 110:2462–2471, 2010