ELECTRONIC-STATE DETECTION PARTITIONING OF ATOMIC NICKEL DURING RESONANT LASER-ABLATION

Resonance ionization mass spectrometry studies of atomic species origi nating from a thermal source have been used to produce intensity/popul ation calibration factors in the 2+1 (photons to resonance + photons t o ionize) ionization of Ni. In Ni, several low lying excited electroni c states provide ionization pathways facilitating measurement of the e lectronic temperature of the probed atoms. This detection scheme has b een used to determine the electronic temperature of laser ablated Ni a toms from an electroplated nickel surface. Assuming Boltzmann behavior , temperatures of approximately 2600K have been observed. The producti on of such high temperatures during laser ablation results in signific ant population of a variety of electronic states, thereby decreasing t he overall sensitivity of any state-specific analysis technique that f ollows such laser sampling.