Efficient nonresonant dipole force on molecules by a tightly focused laser

Frontiers in Physics

Zhao, Bum Suk¹  Chung, Doo Soo²  Sun, Xing Nan³  Shin, So Eun³ 

[1] Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea;Department of Physics, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea;Molecule Optics and Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

关键词: nonresonant dipole force;    Carbon Disulfide;    focusing;    deflection;    molecule optics;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphy.2014.00034

学科分类：物理（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

When a molecule is placed in a nonresonant laser field, the Stark interactions between the laser field and the induced molecular dipole result in a mechanical force on the molecule. This nonresonant dipole force is proportional to the intensity gradient of the laser, thus requiring a strong and focused pulsed laser for a sizable impact on the molecule. 36.4 mJ pulses of a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser focused with a 17.5 cm focal length convex lens produced a 6.4 m/s change in the transverse velocity of a CS2 molecular beam. Using spherical mirrors with shorter focal lengths such as 10.0, 7.5, and 5.0 cm, dipole forces of similar magnitude were obtained with laser pulses of much lower energies. In particular the 5.0-cm focal length spherical mirror provided an 11.3 m/s change in the transverse velocity using 3.6 mJ laser pulses. This corresponds to 18-fold increase in the deflection efficiency, the ratio between the maximum velocity change and the pulse energy. From the improved efficiency, the nonresonant dipole force can be exerted with ease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY