Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Laser light (the second or third harmonics from an Nd:YAG laser) was focussed on the metal substrate in vacuum. A pulsed molecular beam of an organometallic compound, a metal carbonyl, or an organic molecule was introduced in the entrance region (the region in front of the ion-lens assembly) of a quadrupole mass filter which was located near the metal substrate. The reaction of the molecules in the beam with either the electrons or ions from the metal substrate was studied by monitoring the product ions by the mass spectrometer.