This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program will help the Department of Chemistry at Wesleyan University purchase laser equipment. This equipment will be used in the following research activities: High Resolution Laser Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions and van der Walls Cluster Ions, Laser Multiphoton Resonant Ionization Detection of Electron Stimulated Desorption, Neutral Angular Distributions, Rotational and Vibrational Relaxation of Diatomic Molecules in High Temperature Gases, High Resolution Studies of Line Profiles in Coherent Anti-Strokes Raman Scattering, and Laser Prepared State Selected Atomic Collisions. Lasers emit a narrow beam of coherent, powerful and nearly monochromatic electromagnetic radiation. This radiation is used in chemistry to study a broad range of subjects, from the dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids to photoelectron transfer processes, and from interfacial chemistry to picosecond pulse shaping. Lasers are also useful in optics, communications, and engineering.
