In molecule optics, a matter wave of molecules is manipulated by a molecule-optical component made of external, typically radiative, fields. The molecule-optical index of refraction, n, for a nonresonant IR laser pulse focused onto a molecular beam can be obtained from the energy conservation and wave properties of molecules. Experimentally measured values of n for benzene and nitric oxide agreed well with the calculated values. Since n depends on the properties of molecules as well as those of the laser field, a molecule prism composed of the focused nonresonant laser field can separate a multi-component molecular beam into several components according to their molecule-optical refractive indices n. We obtained a chromatographic resolution of 0.90 for the spatial separation of a mixture beam of benzene and nitric oxide using a focused Nd:YAG laser pulse as a molecule prism. In addition, ways of improving the efficiency of optical forces will be discussed.
Presenting author:
Doo Soo Chung
Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Korea
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Authors:
Doo Soo Chung - Seoul National University