Abstract

Resonant Laser Ablation (RLA) is a useful ionization process for selectively producing gas phase ions from a solid sample. Recent use of RLA for mass spectrometry by this group¹ and by others² has produced a wealth of knowledge and useful analytical techniques. The method relies upon the focusing of modest intensity laser pulses (≤ 107 W·cm^-2) upon a sample surface. A small quantity of material is vaporized, and atoms of desired analyte are subsequently ionized by (n+m) photon processes in the gas phase (where n = # of photons to a resonant transition and m = # of photons to exceed the ionization limit). We have been using (2+1) resonant ionization schemes for this work; a comprehensive list of (2+1) transitions used by this and other research groups has been published elsewhere³.

© 1996 Optical Society of America