THE VELOCITY KINETIC-ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF SC AND SCO AND OPTICAL-SPECTRA FROM THE LASER VAPORIZATION OF SC2O3

A translationally fast pulsed beam of scandium atoms, ions, and scandium monoxide is produced by laser vaporization using the second harmonic (lambda = 532 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser. Laser power densities range from 1.1 X 10(7) to 9.5 X 10(8) W cm-2 , resulting in beams with kinetic energies up to 30 eV. The kinetic energy distributions of the vaporized species are measured by time-of-flight spectroscopy. High-velocity scandium atoms, ions and scandium monoxide molecules were produced during irradiation. Optical spectra of the vaporized species, taken simultaneously using an optical multichannel analyzer, reveal that the species are being formed in excited states. The applicability of using the laser-generated species in kinetic and spectroscopic studies will be discussed.