2023/03/02 by L. Kalkhoff, A. Golombek, Kalkhoff, L. +9
Chemistry · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Ion-surface interactions and analysis #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2303.01399
openalex publication_date 2023/03/02 · openalex created_date 2023/03/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The dynamics triggered by the impact of an ion onto a solid surface has been explored mainly by theoretical modeling or computer simulation to date. Results indicate that the microscopic non-equilibrium relaxation processes triggered by the interaction of the ion with the solid occur on (sub-)picosecond time scales. A suitable experimental approach to these dynamics therefore requires a pump-probe method with an appropriate time resolution. Recent experiments have successfully used laser photoionization of noble gas atoms in combination with a Wiley-MacLaren ion buncher to obtain arrival time distributions as narrow as tion = 180 ps. Here we show that this setup can be significantly improved by replacing the gas at a temperature of Tatoms = 300 K with a supersonic beam of cooled noble gas atoms at Tatoms = 4 K. The detailed analysis of measured arrival times of individual Ne+ ions with a kinetic energy of 4 keV reveals that the arrival time jitter can be reduced by this technique down to (18±4) ps. This opens the door to pump-probe experiments with keV ions with a time-resolution in the picosecond range.