Discharge source coupled to a deceleration unit for anion beam generation: Application to H2- photodetachment

A cathode discharge source coupled to a deceleration unit for anion beam generation is described. The discharge source, made of stainless steel or duralumin electrodes and Macor insulators, is attached to the exit nozzle valve plate at one end, and to an Einzel lens to the other end. Subsequently, a cylindrical retardation unit is attached to the Einzel lens to decelerate the ions in order to optimize the laser beam interaction time required for spectroscopic investigations. The compact device is able to produce beam intensities of the order of 2x10(12) anions/cm(2) s and 20 mu rad of angular divergence with kinetic energies ranging from 30 to 120 eV. Using distinct gas mixtures for the supersonic expansion together with a linear time-of-flight spectrometer, anions of great relevance in molecular astrophysics like, for example, H-2(-), C3H-, C-2(-), C2H-, HCN2-, CO2-, CO2H-, C-4(-), C4H-, C5H4-, C5H6-, C7N-, and C10N- were produced. Finally, in order to demonstrate the capability of the experimental technique the photodetachment cross-section of the metastable H-2(-), predominantly in the (v = 0, J = 26) state, was measured following laser excitation at lambda(exc) = 565 nm obtaining a value of sigma(ph) = 0.04 angstrom. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that this anion cross-section has been measured. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.