Versatile piezoelectric pulsed molecular beam source for gaseous compounds and organic molecules with femtomole accuracy for UHV and surface science applications

This note describes the construction of a piezoelectric pulsed molecular beam source based upon a design presented in an earlier work [D. Proch and T. Trickl, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 60, 713 (1988)]. The design features significant modifications that permit the determination of the number of molecules in a beam pulse with an accuracy of 1×1011 molecules per pulse. The 21 cm long plunger-nozzle setup allows the molecules to be brought to any point of the UHV chamber with very high intensity. Furthermore, besides typical gaseous compounds, also smaller organic molecules with a vapor pressure higher than 0.1 mbar at room temperature may serve as feed material. This makes the new design suitable for various applications in chemical and surface science studies.