Depletion of the excited state population in negative ions using laser photodetachment in a gas filled RF quadrupole ion guide
The depopulation of excited states in beams of negatively charged carbon and silicon ions was demonstrated using collisional detachment and laser photodetachment in a radio-frequency quadrupole ion guide filled with helium. The high-lying, loosely bound {sup 2}D excited state in C{sup -} was completely depleted through collisional detachment alone, which was quantitatively determined within 6%. For Si{sup -} the combined signal from the population in the {sup 2}P and {sup 2}D excited states was only partly depleted through collisions in the cooler. The loosely bound {sup 2}P state was likely to be completely depopulated, and the more tightly bound {sup 2}D state was partly depopulated through collisions. 98(2)% of the remaining {sup 2}D population was removed by photodetachment in the cooler using less than 2 W laser power. The total reduction of the excited population in Si{sup -}, including collisional detachment and photodetachment, was estimated to be 99(1)%. Employing this novel technique to produce a pure ground state negative ion beam offers possibilities of enhancing selectivity, as well as accuracy, in high-precision experiments on atomic as well as molecular negative ions.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 980723
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Vol. 43, Issue 11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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