Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurements on Electron - Excited Molecules.

An electron-impact excited jet-cooled molecular beam was probed by a tunable dye laser system allowing elucidation of the electron-impact ionization and dissociation processes. This technique has been applied to the study of the rotational ground state and excited state populations of electron-impact excited N_2^{+ }. Following electron-impact dissociation of acetonitrile, water and methanol similar measurements have been performed on the rotational populations of CN(X) and OH(X). We also present results for the absolute cross section for the electron-impact formation of CN(X) from CH_3CN. Measurements have also been performed on the relative cross section for the electron impact dissociation of OH(X) from H_2O and CH_3OH. We have demonstrated the feasibility of the technique and discuss several possible future avenues of research.