Absolute Electron-Impact Ionization Cross Section Measurements Using a Magneto-Optical Trap
R. Scott Schappe, Thad G Walker, L. W. Anderson +1 more
We present a new method for measuring absolute total electron-impact ionization cross sections. The technique measures fractional loss rates from a magneto-optical trap due to electron-impact ionization. The method requires only relative measurements of the number of target atoms and therefore eliminates a major source of difficulty in previous experiments. We report total ionization cross sections of Rb for electron energies from 50 to 500 eV.
Physical Review Letters•Jun 3, 1996•57 citations