Optimizing aerodynamic lenses for single-particle imaging

A numerical simulation infrastructure capable of calculating the flow of gas and the trajectories of particles through an aerodynamic lens injector is presented. The simulations increase the fundamental understanding and predict optimized injection geometries and parameters. Our simulation results were compared to previous reports and also validated against experimental data for 500 nm polystyrene spheres from an aerosol-beam- characterization setup. The simulations yielded a detailed understanding of the radial phase-space distribution and highlighted weaknesses of current aerosol injectors for single-particle diffractive imaging. With the aid of these simulations we developed new experimental implementations to overcome current limitations

Spatially separated polar samples of the cis and trans conformers of 3-fluorophenol

We demonstrate the spatial separation of the cis- and trans-conformers of 3-fluorophenol in the gas phase based on their distinct electric dipole moments. For both conformers we create very polar samples of their lowest-energy rotational quantum states. A >95 % pure beam of trans-3-fluorophenol and a >90 % pure beam of the lowest-energy rotational states of the less polar cis-3-fluorophenol were obtained for helium and neon supersonic expansions, respectively. This is the first demonstration of the spatial separation of the lowest-energy rotational states of the least polar conformer, which is necessary for strong alignment and orientation of all individual conformers.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Spatially-controlled complex molecules and their applications

The understanding of molecular structure and function is at the very heart of the chemical and molecular sciences. Experiments that allow for the creation of structurally pure samples and the investigation of their molecular dynamics and chemical function have developed tremendously over the last few decades, although "there's plenty of room at the bottom" for better control as well as further applications. Here, we describe the use of inhomogeneous electric fields for the manipulation of neutral molecules in the gas-phase, \ie, for the separation of complex molecules according to size, structural isomer, and quantum state. For these complex molecules, all quantum states are strong-field seeking, requiring dynamic fields for their confinement. Current applications of these controlled samples are summarised and interesting future applications discussed.Comment: Accepted by Int. Rev. Phys. Che

Development and characterization of a laser-induced acoustic desorption source

A laser-induced acoustic desorption source, developed for use at central facilities, such as free-electron lasers, is presented. It features prolonged measurement times and a fixed interaction point. A novel sample deposition method using aerosol spraying provides a uniform sample coverage and hence stable signal intensity. Utilizing strong-field ionization as a universal detection scheme, the produced molecular plume is characterized in terms of number density, spatial extend, fragmentation, temporal distribution, translational velocity, and translational temperature. The effect of desorption laser intensity on these plume properties is evaluated. While translational velocity is invariant for different desorption laser intensities, pointing to a non-thermal desorption mechanism, the translational temperature increases significantly and higher fragmentation is observed with increased desorption laser fluence.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Characterizing and optimizing a laser-desorption molecular beam source

The design and characterization of a new laser-desorption molecular beam source, tailored for use in x-ray-free-electron-laser and ultrashort-pulse-laser imaging experiments, is presented. It consists of a single mechanical unit containing all source components, including the molecular-beam valve, the sample, and the fiber-coupled desorption laser, which is movable in five axes, as required for experiments at central facilities. Utilizing strong-field ionization, we characterize the produced molecular beam and evaluate the influence of desorption laser pulse energy, relative timing of valve opening and desorption laser, sample bar height, and which part of the molecular packet is probed on the sample properties. Strong-field ionization acts as a universal probe and allows to detect all species present in the molecular beam, and hence enables us to analyze the purity of the produced molecular beam, including molecular fragments. We present optimized experimental parameters for the production of the purest molecular beam, containing the highest yield of intact parent ions, which we find to be very sensitive to the placement of the desorbed-molecules plume within the supersonic expansion

Visualizing aerosol-particle injection for diffractive-imaging experiments

Delivering sub-micrometer particles to an intense x-ray focus is a crucial aspect of single-particle diffractive-imaging experiments at x-ray free-electron lasers. Enabling direct visualization of sub-micrometer aerosol particle streams without interfering with the operation of the particle injector can greatly improve the overall efficiency of single-particle imaging experiments by reducing the amount of time and sample consumed during measurements. We have developed in-situ non-destructive imaging diagnostics to aid real-time particle injector optimization and x-ray/particle-beam alignment, based on laser illumination schemes and fast imaging detectors. Our diagnostics are constructed to provide a non-invasive rapid feedback on injector performance during measurements, and have been demonstrated during diffraction measurements at the FLASH free-electron laser.Comment: 15 page

High-repetition-rate and high-photon-flux 70 eV high-harmonic source for coincidence ion imaging of gas-phase molecules

Unraveling and controlling chemical dynamics requires techniques to image structural changes of molecules with femtosecond temporal and picometer spatial resolution. Ultrashort-pulse x-ray free-electron lasers have significantly advanced the field by enabling advanced pump-probe schemes. There is an increasing interest in using table-top photon sources enabled by high-harmonic generation of ultrashort-pulse lasers for such studies. We present a novel high-harmonic source driven by a 100 kHz fiber laser system, which delivers 10$^{11}$ photons/s in a single 1.3 eV bandwidth harmonic at 68.6 eV. The combination of record-high photon flux and high repetition rate paves the way for time-resolved studies of the dissociation dynamics of inner-shell ionized molecules in a coincidence detection scheme. First coincidence measurements on CH$_3$I are shown and it is outlined how the anticipated advancement of fiber laser technology and improved sample delivery will, in the next step, allow pump-probe studies of ultrafast molecular dynamics with table-top XUV-photon sources. These table-top sources can provide significantly higher repetition rates than the currently operating free-electron lasers and they offer very high temporal resolution due to the intrinsically small timing jitter between pump and probe pulses