High Density Pulsed Molecular Beam for Cold Ion Chemistry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a pulsed molecular beam apparatus that achieves high local gas densities, enabling faster cold ion reactions and improved molecular species preparation under ultrahigh vacuum conditions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel pulsed molecular beam setup that enhances local gas density for cold ion chemistry, improving reaction rates and molecular preparation methods.

Findings

High local gas densities achieved with pulsed beams

Faster reaction rates with cold trapped ions

Effective characterization of beam profile using ions

Abstract

A recent expansion of cold and ultracold molecule applications has led to renewed focus on molecular species preparation under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Meanwhile, molecular beams have been used to study gas phase chemical reactions for decades. In this manuscript, we describe an apparatus that uses pulsed molecular beam technology to achieve high local gas densities, leading to faster reaction rates with cold trapped ions. We characterize the beam's spatial profile using the trapped ions themselves. This apparatus could be used for preparation of molecular species by reactions requiring excitation of trapped ion precursors to states with short lifetimes or for obtaining a high reaction rate with minimal increase of background chamber pressure.