A versatile and transportable endstation for controlled molecule experiments

TL;DR

The paper introduces a new transportable endstation, eCOMO, that combines molecular beam purification and simultaneous ion/electron detection, enabling advanced controlled molecule experiments across various scientific fields.

Contribution

It presents a versatile, transportable endstation integrating electrostatic deflection and velocity-map imaging for controlled molecule studies, adaptable to multiple light sources.

Findings

Successful characterization of molecular beam and deflector

Demonstration of ion and electron detection capabilities

Potential for ultrafast dynamics research across disciplines

Abstract

We report on a new versatile transportable endstation for controlled molecule (eCOMO) experiments providing a combination of molecular beam purification by electrostatic deflection and simultaneous ion and electron detection using velocity-map imaging (VMI). The $b$-type electrostatic deflector provides spatial dispersion of species based on their effective-dipole-moment-to-mass ratio. This enables selective investigation of molecular rotational quantum states, conformers, and molecular clusters. Furthermore, the double-sided VMI spectrometer equipped with two high-temporal-resolution event-driven Timepix3 cameras provides detection of all generated ions independently of their mass-over-charge ratio and electrons. To demonstrate the potential of this novel apparatus, we present experimental results from our investigation of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) after ionization. Specifically, we provide the characterization of the molecular beam, electrostatic deflector, and electron- and ion-VMI spectrometer. The eCOMO endstation delivers a platform for ultrafast dynamics studies using a wide range of light sources from table-top lasers to free-electron-laser and synchrotron-radiation facilities. This makes it suitable for research activities spanning from atomic, molecular, and cluster physics, over energy science and chemistry, to structural biology.