Femtosecond Laser Matter Interaction

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The technique of laser induced Coulomb imaging uses the intense field of an ultrashort laser pulse to remove many electrons from a molecule in rapid succession. The molecule is then reduced to its constituent atomic ions which repel each other with electrostatic force and fly apart with energy related to their initial separation. If we can detect all of these ions in coincidence using time and position sensitive detection then it is possible to deduce the initial geometry of the molecule and possibly the dynamics of the molecule during the explosion process. The research program will focus on improving the capabilities of the process by helping us to understanding physics better. We will use a number of approaches to help us understand these physical processes, these will include using the collisions with highly charged ions at Tokyo Metropolitan University to simulate high intensity laser pulses shorter than currently possible, and synchrotron radiation at the Canadian Light Source to help understand the potential for multiple ionization through core electron ioinization. One of the biggest motivations for using laser based imaging is the controllability of lasers, their ability to access specific energy states to be accessed and thus dynamics to be initiated by a UV "pump" pulse followed by an imaging "probe" pulse which can record a "molecular movie". This will be possible at the Advanced Laser Light Source laboratory where we will use the developing UV radiation source to initiate the proton transfer process in molecules such as C2H2 and image the process using few cycle near infrared pulses. In Waterloo we will tackle one of the biggest barriers to using the Coulomb imaging method with large molecules, We will work with collaborators at TMU who have developed a new detector which has the potential to get close to 100% efficiency, making the goal of imaging large molecules in range finally. We will test new generation detectors in Waterloo and aim to make images of the largest molecules so far achieved.