Uniform molecular analysis using femtosecond laser mass spectrometry

✍ Scribed by X. Fang; K. W. D. Ledingham; P. Graham; D. J. Smith; T. McCanny; R. P. Singhal; A. J. Langley; P. F. Taday

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 163 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0951-4198
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0231(19990730)13:14<1390::aid-rcm650>3.0.co;2-t

✦ Synopsis

The potential of femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectrometry (FLMS) for uniform quantitative analysis of molecules has been investigated. Various samples of molecular gases and vapours have been studied, using ultra-fast ($50 fs) laser pulses with very high intensity (up to 1.6 Â 10 16 Wcm À2 ) for nonresonant multiphoton ionisation/tunnel ionisation. Some of these molecules have high ionisation potentials, requiring up to ten photons for non-resonant ionisation. The relative sensitivity factors (RSF) have been determined as a function of the laser intensity and it has been demonstrated that for molecules with very different masses and ionisation potentials, uniform ionisation has been achieved at the highest laser intensities. Quantitative laser mass spectrometry of molecules is therefore a distinct possibility.