Fragmentation dynamics of methane by few-cycle femtosecond laser pulses

The fragmentation pattern of CH4 was experimentally studied at an intensity of approximately 10(14) W/cm2 with laser durations varying from 8 to 110 fs. When the laser duration was 8 fs, only the primarily fragmental CH3+ ion was observed in addition to the parent CH4+ ion. When the laser duration was 30 fs, small fragmental CH2+ and H+ ions appeared. When the laser duration was 110 fs, some doubly charged ions were also observed in addition to the abundant singly charged ions. The large mass spectra difference demonstrated that the pulse duration had a strong effect on the fragmentation of the parent ion produced in the single ionization. The effect of laser intensity on the fragmentation of CH4+ was also studied for few-cycle femtosecond laser pulses. The results demonstrated that the first-return recollision between the rescattered electron and the parent ion played a significant role in the fragmentation dynamics of the parent ion. Depending on the ion-electron impact energy, the recollision excited the parent ion to a dissociated state or doubly charged state. The experimentally observed singly charged fragmental ions resulted from the recollision-induced dissociation of CH4+ or the Coulomb explosion of CH(4)2+.     

Velocity map imaging of dissociative ionization and coulomb explosion of CH3I induced by a femtosecond laser

The dissociative ionization and the Coulomb explosion of CH3I irradiated by a 35 fs 800 nm laser with a laser intensity of 4 x 10(13) to 6 x 10(14) W/cm2 was studied. In a relatively weak laser field (about 10(13) W/cm2), the dissociative ionization of CH3I took place. The speed distributions of the CH3+ and I+ fragments were measured and fitted using multiple Gaussian functions. Different product channels were found for CH3+ and I+, respectively. In a strong laser field (about 10(14) W/cm2), the multiply ionized fragment ions of Iq+ (q 相似文献   

Effect of cation absorption on ionization/dissociation of cycloketone molecules in a femtosecond laser field

The mass spectra of a series of cycloketone molecules, cyclopentanone (CPO), cyclohexanone (CHO), cycloheptanone (CHPO), and cyclooctanone (COO) are measured in a 788 or 394 nm laser field with 90 fs pulse duration and the intensity ranging from 5 x 10(13) W/cm(2) to 2 x 10(14) W/cm(2). At 788 nm, a dominated parent ion peak and some weak peaks from the fragment ions C(n)H(m)+ are observed for CPO and CHO (a ratio P(+)/T(+), the parent ion yield to the total ion yield, is 81.6% and 52.6%, respectively). But the extensive fragment ion peaks are observed with the greatly reduced parent ion peak for CHPO (P(+)/T(+) = 5.5%) and that are even hard to be identified for COO. These observations are interpreted explicitly in the frame of the significant resonant effect of their cation photoabsorption on ionization and dissociation of these molecules. The present work also suggests that a nonadiabatic ionization occurs with a nuclear rearrangement due to the H movement in these molecules during the ionization in an intense femtosecond laser field.     

Femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectrometry of labile molecular analytes: laser-desorbed nitro-aromatic molecules.

Femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectra of solid samples of trinitrobenzene (TNB), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and trinitrophenol (TNP) have been recorded. Desorption of the solid samples was enacted by the fourth harmonic output (266 nm) of a 5 ns Nd:YAG laser. Subsequent femtosecond post-ionisation of the plume of neutral molecules was achieved using 800 nm laser pulses of 80 fs duration. Mass spectra have been recorded for desorption laser intensities from 2-6 x 10(9) W cm(-2) with ionisation laser intensities between 2 x 10(14) and 6 x 10(15) W cm(-2). Femtosecond laser ionisation has been shown to be capable of generating precursor and characteristic high-mass fragment ions for labile nitro-aromatic molecules commonly used in high-explosive materials. This feature is critical in the future development of femtosecond laser-based analytical instruments that can be used for complex molecular identification and quantitative analysis of environmentally important labile molecules. Furthermore, a comparison of femtosecond post-ionisation mass spectra with standard 70 eV electron impact data has revealed similarities in the spectra and hence the fragmentation processes.     

用质谱和光电子能谱研究飞秒强场中的电离动力学

报导了用自制飞秒激光器通过飞秒多光子电离质谱和光电子能谱对飞秒强激光场与分子（氨、苯）相互作用的研究。飞秒激光脉宽约100fs,二倍频中心波长407.5nm,聚焦后脉冲功率密度达到1012W/cm2。氨的光电子能谱显示了（2+2）REMPI和（2+2）+1ATI、（2+2）+2ATI三组电子峰,每组峰又包括伸缩振动v1的带系,ATI峰的振动布居出现反转。随着光强增加,谱峰加宽而且振动能级出现平移。这些强场效应可用PonderomotivePotential解释。苯的飞秒质谱图与纳秒情况不同,分子离子为主,碎片峰很少。     

Infrared Femtosecond Laser Preionization in Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry of Silver Surface

An alternative secondary ion mass spectrometry utilizing laser preionization is introduced. The native Ag sample surface is first irradiated with laser pulse (100 fs duration, 10(10)-10(11) W/cm(2) intensity, 1240 nm wavelength) and subsequently bombarded with primary ions (Bi(3)(+), 10 ns duration, 25 keV energy). Multiple correlation patterns are observed in the mass spectra, confirming the mutual laser-secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) interplay in the preionization mechanism. The Ag(+), C(3)H(5)(+), C(3)H(5)O(3)(+), and AgOH(+), C(4)H(5)O(4)(+) are observed with the shallow and steep increasing of intensities at 1.3?×?10(11) W/cm(2) and 1.5?×?10(11) W/cm(2), respectively. Two ionization mechanisms are identified, the ion sputtering regime for intensities of less than 1.4?×?10(11) W/cm(2) and the multiphoton ionization at higher intensities. The Ag saturation intensity obtained from fitting is 2.4?×?10(13) W/cm(2), close to the one reported for postionization. The proposed preionization approach might eliminate the need for high peak power/high intensity laser source and, moreover, the experiment geometry ensures that large areas of the sample are affected by the laser beam.     

Photoionization of CH(3)I mediated by the C state in the visible and ultraviolet regions

Three/two-photon resonant multiphoton ionization (MPI) of the CH3I monomer has been studied in the gas phase at 532 and 355 nm using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Under low laser intensity (approximately 10(9) W/cm2) the mass spectra showed peaks at m/z 15, 127 and 142, corresponding to [CH3]+, [I]+ and [CH3I]+ species, at both these wavelengths. The laser power dependence for [CH3I]+, [I]+ and [CH3]+ ions showed a three-photon dependence at 532 nm. For the same three ions, photoionization studies at 355 nm gave a power dependence of 2. Both these results suggest that a vibronic energy level at approximately 7 eV, lying in the Rydberg C state, acts as a resonant intermediate level in ionization of CH3I. In the case of 355 nm, with increasing intensity additional peaks at m/z 139 and 141 were observed which could be assigned to [CI]+ and [CH2I]+ fragments. In contrast, for high intensity radiation at 532 nm ( approximately 2 x 10(10) W/cm2), only the [CI]+ fragment was observed. At these wavelengths, fragment ions observed in mass spectra mainly arise from photodissociation of the parent ion. Experiments at another wavelength in the visible region (564.2 nm) confirmed the results obtained at 532 nm. In order to assess the role of the A state in these MPI experiments, additional experiments were performed at 266 and 282.1 nm, which access the A state directly via a one-photon transition, and showed absence of a surviving precursor ion. Reaction energies for various possible dissociation channels of CH3I/[CH3I]+/[CH2I]+ were calculated theoretically at the MP2 level using the GAMESS electronic structure program.     

Electron and nuclear dynamics of molecular clusters in ultraintense laser fields. II. Electron dynamics and outer ionization of the nanoplasma

We explore electron dynamics in molecular (CD4)(1061) clusters and elemental Xen (n=249-2171) clusters, responding to ultraintense (intensity I=10(16)-10(19) W cm(-2)) laser fields. Molecular dynamics simulations (including magnetic field and relativistic effects) and analyses of high-energy electron dynamics and nuclear ion dynamics in a cluster interacting with a Gaussian shaped laser field (frequency 0.35 fs(-1), photon energy 1.44 eV, phase 0, temporal width 25 fs) elucidated the time dependence of inner ionization, the formation of a nanoplasma of unbound electrons within the cluster or its vicinity, and of outer ionization. We determined the cluster size and the laser intensity dependence of these three sequential-parallel electronic processes. The characteristic times for cluster inner ionization (tau(ii)) and for outer ionization (tau(oi)) fall in the femtosecond time domain, i.e., tau(ii)=2-9 fs and tau(oi)=4-15 fs for (CD4)(1061), tau(ii)=7-30 fs and tau(oi)=5-13 fs for Xe(n) (n=479,1061), with both tau(ii) and tau(oi) decreasing with increasing I, in accord with the barrier suppression ionization mechanism for inner ionization of the constituents and the cluster barrier suppression ionization mechanism for outer ionization. The positive delay times Deltatau(OI) between outer and inner ionization (e.g., Deltatau(OI)=6.5 fs for Xen at I=10(16) W cm(-2) and Deltatau(OI)=0.2 fs for (CD4)(1061) at I=10(19) W cm(-2)) demonstrate that the outer/inner ionization processes are sequential. For (CD4)(1061), tau(ii)tau(oi), reflecting on the energetic hierarchy in the ionization of the Xe atoms. Quasiresonance contributions to the outer ionization of the nanoplasma were established, as manifested in the temporal oscillations in the inner/outer ionization levels, and in the center of mass of the nanoplasma electrons. The formation characteristics, dynamics, and response of the nanoplasma in molecular or elemental clusters were addressed. The nanoplasma is positively charged, with a high-average electron density [rho(P)=(2-3)10(22) cm(-3)], being characterized by high-average electron energies epsilon(av) (e.g., in Xe(1061) clusters epsilon(av)=54 eV at I=10(16) W cm(-2) and epsilon(av)=0.56-0.37 keV at I=10(18) W cm(-2), with epsilon(av) proportional, variant I(1/2)). Beyond the cluster boundary the average electron energy markedly increases, reaching electron energies in the range of 1.2-40 keV for outer ionization of Xe(n) (n=249-2171) clusters. The nanoplasma exhibits spatial inhomogeneity and angular anisotropy induced by the laser field. Femtosecond time scales are predicted for the nanoplasma production (rise times 7-3 fs), for the decay (decay times approximately 5 fs), and for the persistence time (30-10 fs) of a transient nanoplasma at I=10(17)-10(18) W cm(-2). At lower intensities of I=10(16) W cm(-2) a persistent nanoplasma with a "long" lifetime of > 50 fs will prevail.     

Acetylene-vinylidene isomerization in ultrashort intense laser fields studied by triple ion-coincidence momentum imaging

The isomerization of acetylene via hydrogen migration in intense laser fields (8 x 10(14) W/cm2) has been investigated by coincidence momentum imaging of the three-body Coulomb explosion process, C2H2 (3+)-->H+ + C+ + CH+. When ultrashort (9 fs) laser pulses are used, the angle between the momenta of C+ and H+ fragments exhibits a sharp distribution peaked at a small angle ( approximately 20 degrees ), showing that the hydrogen atom remains near the original carbon site in the acetylene configuration. On the other hand, a significantly broad distribution extending to larger momentum angles ( approximately 120 degrees ) is observed when the pulse duration is increased to 35 fs, indicating that the ultrafast isomerization to vinylidene is induced in the longer laser pulse.     

Effect of laser parameters on ultrafast hydrogen migration in methanol studied by coincidence momentum imaging

The effect of intensity, duration, and polarization of ultrashort laser pulses (795 nm, 40-100 fs, and 0.15-1.5 × 10(15) W/cm(2)) on the hydrogen migration in methanol is systematically investigated using Coulomb explosion coincidence momentum imaging. The ratio of the ion yield obtained for the migration pathway CH(3)OH(2+) → CH(2)(+) + OH(2)(+) with respect to the sum of the yields obtained for the migration pathway and for the nonmigration pathway CH(3)OH(2+) → CH(3)(+) + OH(+) exhibits a small (10-20%) but clear dependence on laser pulse properties, that is, the ratio decreases as the laser peak intensity increases but increases when the pulse duration increases as well as when the laser polarization is changed from linear to circular.     

C60 in intense short pulse laser fields down to 9 fs: excitation on time scales below e-e and e-phonon coupling

The interaction of C60 fullerenes with 765-797 nm laser pulses as short as 9 fs at intensities of up to 3.7 x 10(14) W cm(-2) is investigated with photoion spectroscopy. The excitation time thus addressed lies well below the characteristic time scales for electron-electron and electron-phonon couplings. Thus, energy deposition into the system is separated from energy redistribution among the various electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. Insight into fundamental photoinduced processes such as ionization and fragmentation is obtained from the analysis of the resulting mass spectra as a function of pulse duration, laser intensity, and time delay between pump and probe pulses, the latter revealing a memory effect for storing electronic energy in the system with a relaxation time of about 50 fs. Saturation intensities and relative abundances of (multiply charged) parent and fragment ions (C60(q+), q=1-6) are fingerprints for the ionization and fragmentation mechanisms. The observations indicate that for final charge states q>1 the well known C60 giant plasmon resonance is involved in creating ions and a significant amount of large fragments even with 9 fs pulses through a nonadiabatic multielectron dynamics. In contrast, for energetic reasons singly charged ions are generated by an essentially adiabatic single active electron mechanism and negligible fragmentation is found when 9 fs pulses are used. These findings promise to unravel a long standing puzzle in understanding C60 mass spectra generated by intense femtosecond laser pulses.     

Atomiclike ionization and fragmentation of a series of CH3-X (X: H, F, Cl, Br, I, and CN) by an intense femtosecond laser

Methane derivatives of CH(3)-X (X: H, F, Cl, Br, I, and CN) were ionized and fragmented by an intense femtosecond laser with a 40 fs pulse at 0.8 microm in intensities of 10(13)-10(15) W cm(-2). The curves of the ionization yields of CH(3)-X versus laser intensities have been found to be fitted with an atomic ionization theory (the theory of Perelomov, Popov, and Terent'ev) that has been established to reproduce experimental results well for rare gas atoms. The saturation intensities have been reproduced within a factor of 1.6 of the calculated ones. For molecules with low ionization potentials such as amines, another atomic ionization theory (the theory of Ammosov, Delone, and Krainov) reproduced the saturation intensities. The atomiclike ionization behavior of molecules indicates that the fragmentation occurs after the ionization. The fragmentation mechanisms after the ionization of some molecular ions are discussed.     

Ionization and dissociation of CH3I in intense laser field

The ionization-dissociation of methyl iodide in intense laser field has been studied using a reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RTOF-MS), at a laser intensity of < or =6.6x10(14) W/cm(2), lambda=798 nm, and a pulse width of 180 fs. With the high resolution of RTOF-MS, the fragment ions with the same M/z but from different dissociation channels are resolved in the mass spectra, and the kinetic energy releases (KERs) of the fragment ions such as I(q+) (q=1-6), CH(m) (+) (m=0-3), C(2+), and C(3+) are measured. It is found that the KERs of the fragment ions are independent of the laser intensity. The fragments CH(3) (+) and I(+) with very low KERs (<1 eV for CH(3) (+) and <0.07 eV for I(+)) are assigned to be produced by the multiphoton dissociation of CH(3)I(+). For the fragments CH(3) (+) and I(+) from CH(3)I(2+), they are produced by the Coulomb explosion of CH(3)I(2+) with the interaction from the covalent force of the remaining valence electrons. The split of the KER of the fragments produced from CH(3)I(2+) dissociation is observed experimentally and explained with the energy split of I(+)((3)P(2)) and I(+)((3)P(0,1)). The dissociation CH(3)I(3+)-->CH(3) (+)+I(2+) is caused by Coulomb explosion. The valid charge distance R(c) between I(2+) and CH(3) (+), at which enhanced ionization of methyl iodide occurs, is obtained to be 3.7 A by the measurements of the KERs of the fragments CH(3) (+) and I(2+). For the CH(3)I(n+) (n> or =3), the KERs of the fragment ions CH(3) (p+) and I(q+) are attributed to the Coulomb repulsion between CH(3) (p+) and I(q+) from R(c) approximately 3.7 A. The dissociation of the fragment CH(3) (+) is also discussed. By the enhanced ionization mechanism and using the measured KER of I(q+), all the possible Coulomb explosion channels are identified. By comparing the abundance of fragment ions in mass spectrum, it is found that the asymmetric dissociation channels with more charges on iodine, q>p, are the dominant channels.     

Photodissociation and photoisomerization of alpha-fluorotoluene and 4-fluorotoluene in a molecular beam

The photodissociation of jet-cooled alpha-fluorotoluene and 4-fluorotoluene at 193 and 248 nm was studied using vacuum ultraviolet (vuv) photoionization/multimass ion imaging techniques as well as electron impact ionization/photofragment translational spectroscopy. Four dissociation channels were observed for alpha-fluorotoluene at both 193 and 248 nm, including two major channels C6H5CH2F-->C6H5CH2 (or C7H7)+F and C6H5CH2F-->C6H5CH (or C7H6)+HF and two minor channels C6H5CH2F-->C6H5CHF+H and C6H5CH2F-->C6H5+CH2F. The vuv wavelength dependence of the C7H7 fragment photoionization spectra indicates that at least part of the F atom elimination channel results from the isomerization of alpha-fluorotoluene to a seven-membered ring prior to dissociation. Dissociation channels of 4-fluorotoluene at 193 nm include two major channels C6H4FCH3-->C6H4FCH2+H and C6H4FCH3-->C6H4F+CH3 and two minor channels C6H4FCH3-->C6H5CH2 (or C7H7)+F and C6H4FCH3-->C6H5CH (or C7H6)+HF. The dissociation rates for alpha-fluorotoluene at 193 and 248 nm are 3.3 x 10(7) and 5.6 x 10(5) s(-1), respectively. The dissociation rate for 4-fluorotoluene at 193 nm is 1.0 x 10(6) s(-1). An ab initio calculation demonstrates that the barrier height for isomerization from alpha-fluorotoluene to a seven-membered ring isomer is much lower than that from 4-fluorotoluene to a seven-membered ring isomer. The experimental observed differences of dissociation rates and relative branching ratios between alpha-fluorotoluene and 4-fluorotoluene may be explained by the differences in the six-membered ring to seven-membered ring isomerization barrier heights, F atom elimination threshold, and HF elimination threshold between alpha-fluorotoluene and 4-fluorotoluene.     

Acetylene weak bands at 2.5 μm from intracavity Cr:ZnSe laser absorption observed with time-resolved Fourier transform spectroscopy

The spectral dynamics of a mid-infrared multimode Cr(2+):ZnSe laser located in a vacuum sealed chamber containing acetylene at low pressure is analyzed by a stepping-mode high-resolution time-resolved Fourier transform interferometer. Doppler-limited absorption spectra of C(2)H(2) in natural isotopic abundance are recorded around 4000 cm(-1) with kilometric absorption path lengths and sensitivities better than 3 10(-8) cm(-1). Two cold bands are newly identified and assigned to the ν(1)+ν(4) (1) and ν(3)+ν(5) (1) transitions of (12)C(13)CH(2). The ν(1)+ν(5) (1) band of (12)C(2)HD and fourteen (12)C(2)H(2) bands are observed, among which for the first time ν(2)+2ν(4) (2)+ν(5) (-1).     

甲烷在飞秒强激光场中的解离

用波长为800 nm，脉宽为160 fs，强度范围为7.6×1013～1.4×1014 W•cm－2的强激光使甲烷分子解离，并用质谱仪检测产生的离子.母体离子在较低的激光强度（7.6×1013 W•cm－2）下出现;当激光强度增加到8.0×1013 W•cm－2时，开始出现；CH2＋、CH＋和C＋离子出现的阈值分别为1.0×1014 W•cm－2、1.4×1014 W•cm－2和1.4×1014 W•cm－2.这些现象表明甲烷的解离是一个顺序过程.质谱图中没有多电荷离子，因此排除了发生库仑爆炸的可能.以线偏振激光作用于甲烷，只有H＋离子有各向异性的角度分布，暗示分子中的化学键是被激光外场拉断的，且初级产物离子H＋是沿着激光电场的方向飞出.提出的准双原子分子模型较好地解释了实验结果.     

Photodissociation of Cycloketones by Ultraintense Femtosecond Laser Pulses

ThestudyofphotoionizationandphotodissociationprocessesinducedbyintensefemtosecondlaserpuIses(>lo"W/cm')withpolyatomicmoleculesbecomesofinterestbecausesomenewphenomenahavebeenobserved'-3.Sofar,mostoftheinvestigationsfocusontheexperimentalexplorationofphotoionizationprocesses'-'.Butthephotoionizationmechanismofpolyatomicmoleculesinanintensefslaserfieldisstillambiguous'.,.Incontrasttothephotoionizationprocesses,theunderstandingoffragmentationofmolecularionisevenpoorer.Corkumetal,'.,'reportedthef…     

Kinetics of the CH2Cl + CH3 and CHCl2 + CH3 radical-radical reactions

The CH2Cl + CH3 (1) and CHCl2 + CH3 (2) cross-radical reactions were studied by laser photolysis/photoionization mass spectroscopy. Overall rate constants were obtained in direct real-time experiments in the temperature region 301-800 K and bath gas (helium) density (6-12) x 10(16) atom cm(-3). The observed rate constant of reaction 1 can be represented by an Arrhenius expression k1 = 3.93 x 10(-11) exp(91 K/T) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) (+/-25%) or as an average temperature-independent value of k1= (4.8 +/- 0.7) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1). The rate constant of reaction 2 can be expressed as k2= 1.66 x 10(-11) exp(359 K/T) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) (+/-25%). C2H4 and C2H3Cl were detected as the primary products of reactions 1 and 2, respectively. The experimental values of the rate constant are in reasonable agreement with the prediction based on the "geometric mean rule." A separate experimental attempt to determine the rate constants of the high-temperature CH2Cl + O2 (10) and CHCl2 + O2 (11) reaction resulted in an upper limit of 1.2 x 10(-16) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) for k10 and k11 at 800 K.     

Interaction mechanism of some alkyl iodides with femtosecond laser pulses

The interaction of 1-iodopropane, 2-iodopropane, 1-iodobutane, 2-iodobutane, and 1-iodopentane with (5 x 10(13-)5 x 10(15) W/cm2) femtosecond laser fields is studied by means of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. It is found that multiphoton ionization (MPI) and field ionization (FI) processes are involved in the molecular ionization. The contribution of these processes can be distinguished using the peak profile of the ions in the mass spectra. Thus, from the mass spectra of 2-iodoropane and 2-iodobutane, it is concluded that MPI processes are taking place even for Keldysh parameter values gamma approximately 0.3. The field ionization process depends on the characteristics of the molecular binding potential well and leads to an asymmetric charge distribution of the transient multiply charged parent ions. In the case of 1-iodobutane, the MPI processes lead to a stable doubly charged parent ion production with a laser intensity threshold higher than that found for I2+ ions. In addition, the isomers studied exhibit distinct differences in their mass spectra and their origin is discussed in detail.     

Two-channel opto-acoustic diode laser spectrometer and fine structure of methane absorption spectra in 6070-6180 cm-1 region

We describe the hardware and software of the high-sensitive two-channel opto-acoustic spectrometer with a near infrared diode laser. A semiconductor TEC-100 laser with outer resonator generates a continuous single-frequency radiation in the range of 6040-6300 cm-1 with spectral resolution better that 10 MHz. The newly designed model of photo-acoustic cells in the form of a ring type resonator was used in the spectrometer, and the system allows the measurement of a weak absorption coefficient equal to 1.4x10(-7) cm-1 Hz-1/2 with a laser radiation power of 0.003 W. The methane absorption spectra within a range of 6080-6180 cm-1 were measured with a spectral resolution of 10 MHz and the signal to noise ratio more than 10(3). Six hundred absorption lines were recorded, which is twice as many as in HITRAN-2004. The accurate measurements of the half-width and shift of methane unresolved triplet R3 of 2nu3 band permit us to determine values of the broadening and shift coefficients for CH4-air, CH4-N2, and CH4-SF6 mixtures.