Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Physics

Progress toward cleaner combustion, the development of surface catalysts, the microfabrication of layered semiconductors, the ultrasensitive detection of toxic emissions from hazardous waste incinerators, and the discovery of new corrosion-resistant materials exemplify the objectives of current research projects in applied physics that require a precise understanding of chemical reactions in the gas phase and on solid surfaces.  

Characterization of these chemical reactions requires a variety of experimental techniques, including photoionization mass spectrometry with VUV lasers and synchrotron radiation, laser-induced multiphoton ionization, laser photolysis, x-ray and low-energy diffraction, Auger spectroscopy, and time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Closely related studies involve molecular energy transfer, ionization in the gas phase, vibrational energy exchange, and desorption at surfaces. Another research program in this area concentrates on collisions between low-energy, highly charged ions and atoms or molecules that take place at KeV energies. Of particular interest are basic atomic processes relevant to laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. The low-energy, very highly charged ions of interest are produced by a superconducting solenoid electron-beam ion source, designed and built at Cornell.