Deconvolved Ionization Probabilities for Strong Field Ionization of Xenon

Abstract

Using a novel experimental technique, Intensity Selective Scanning¹.², we have collected time-of-flight mass spectra of ions produced by strong field laser ionization. The hallmark of this technique is that it eliminates a persistent problem inherent in traditional experiments: the complex spatial distribution of intensities present in the ionizing pulse. As a consequence, it becomes possible to extract ionization yields as a function of intensity directly from the experimental data, removing the complication of deducing them from a spatially averaged signal. We will resent results for xenon ionized by laser pulses at intensities ranging from 10¹³ to 4x10⁴ W/cm².