Abstract

Discussions of photon-surface interactions have traditionally been cast in terms of the collective properties (e.g., the heat capacity or the optical susceptibility) of the irradiated material. However, the development of lasers and synchrotron light sources, coupled with innovative applications of both mass and optical spectroscopy, is making it possible to study photon-surface interactions at an atomic scale by determining the quantum states of atoms and molecules at and near material surfaces. Short-wavelength free-electron lasers operating in the XUV and VUV regions of the spectrum offer some exciting prospects for novel photon-matter interaction experiments which take advantage of the FEL's intrinsic properties of narrow bandwidth, high intensity, short temporal pulse length and coherence. In this review, we examine some of the ways in which free-electron lasers in the VUV and XUV can lead both to new tools for studying photon-surface interactions through uv-photon-stimulated-desorption (PSD) spectroscopy, and to new developments in optical technology which might help solve certain pressing technological needs of XUV FELs.

© 1988 Optical Society of America