Abstract

We here report on experiments where we use a widely tunable infrared Free Electron Laser to resonantly excite gas phase C₆₀ and other fullerenes up to their ionization threshold. The experiments are performed at the Free Electron Laser for Infrared experiments (FELIX) in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. This laser produces IR radiation that is continuously tunable over the 100-2000 cm⁻¹ range. The light output consists of macropulses of about 4 µs duration containing up to 50 mJ of energy. Each macropulse consists of a train of micropulses that are approximately 0.3 ps long and 1 ns apart. The macropulse repetition rate is 10 Hz.

© 1998 IEEE