A laser ablation ion source for gas cell studies

A high-power laser ablation ion source has been developed, characterized and implemented as part of the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) experiment at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. LEBIT was developed to make precision measurements of rare isotopes, including mass measurements with a Penning trap. A key component of LEBIT is a gas stopping station that thermalizes nuclear reaction products in a helium-filled cell, followed by ion extraction using electrostatic ion-manipulation and differential pumping. Atomic ions and clusters needed to test the LEBIT system and to further understand properties of the gas cell were created using a new laser ablation system under various conditions, including atmospheric pressure. Laser ablation studies of carbon performed in the gas cell with the second harmonic, 532 nm, from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser are reported here. The extraction time and the ion mobility for ions traveling through the gas cell were measured, and the chemical evolution of the molecular ions created during the ablation was observed.