A simple photoionization scheme for characterizing electron and ion spectrometers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a straightforward diode laser-based photoionization method to generate well-defined electrons and ions for calibrating and characterizing spectrometers, emphasizing simplicity, low power, and versatility.

Contribution

The authors propose a simple, low-power photoionization scheme using diode lasers for spectrometer calibration, suitable for research and educational applications.

Findings

Produces electrons and ions with <2 eV energy spread

Requires only ~1 mW laser power

Easily integrated into existing spectrometers

Abstract

We present a simple diode laser-based photoionization scheme for generating electrons and ions with well-defined spatial and energetic (<2 eV) structures. This scheme can easily be implemented into ion or electron imaging spectrometers for the purpose of off-line characterization and calibration. The low laser power ~1$ mW needed from a passively stabilized diode laser and the low flux of potassium atoms in an effusive beam make our scheme a versatile source of ions and electrons for applications in research and education.