Time-of-flight photoelectron spectroscopy of gases using synchrotron radiation

A gas-phase time-of-flight (TOF) photoelectron spectrometer has been developed for use with synchrotron radiation. The excellent time structure of the synchrotron radiation at the Stanford Positron Electron Accelerator Ring (SPEAR) has been used as the time base for the TOF measurements. The TOF analyzer employs two multichannel plates (MCPs) in tandem as a fast electron multiplier with a matched 50-Ω anode to form an electron detector with a timing resolution of ⩽70 ps. The spectrometer is presently capable of analyzing electrons over a wide energy range (1-50 eV) at medium energy resolution (⩽5%) and high angular resolution (±3°).