X-ray-laser interaction with matter and the role of multiphoton ionization: Free-electron-laser studies on neon and helium

Abstract

At the soft-x-ray free-electron laser FLASH in Hamburg, we have studied multiphoton ionization on neon and helium by ion mass-to-charge spectroscopy. The experiments were performed in a focused beam at 42.8 and 38.4 eV photon energy and irradiance levels up to 1014 W cm2. Direct, sequential, and resonant two-, three-, and four-photon excitations were investigated by quantitative measurements as a function of the absolute photon intensity. The atomic and ionic photoionization cross sections derived indicate a clear dominance of sequential compared to direct multiphoton processes. © 2007 The American Physical Society.