Laser desorption from a liquid stream
Abstract
We have demonstrated the feasibility of laser desorption from a stream of liquid within a vacuum chamber as a source of analyte for spectral analysis. The parameters necessary for operation of the system have been identified and include hardware and properties of the liquid chosen as carrier. The system was demonstrated by the Nd:YAG laser desorption of naphthalene from 1,2-ethanediol and the subsequent entrainment of the desorbed material in a supersonic expansion. Using the frequency doubled output from a Nd:YAG pumped dye laser as a source and fluorescence detection, we acquired excitation spectra which show the final temperature of the desorbed material to be < 15K. These cold spectra demonstrate and confirm the applicability of the technique as a spectral source.