Energetics of pulsed laser ablation species as determined by quadrupole and time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Time-of-flight data from an electron impact quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) are used to determine the composition and energy of a neutral plume created by pulsed laser ablation of ZnTe. Velocities of the ablated species are extracted by taking spectra at two distances and measuring the change in arrival time. Results from the QMS are compared to those obtained by 193-nm laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.