Multimass ion imaging detection: Application to photodissociation

A constant momentum mass spectrometer with a two-dimensional ion detector in conjunction with a pulsed vacuum ultraviolet laser is used for the simultaneous measurement of the translational energy distributions of many different fragments. A description of the apparatus and its performance are presented. Preliminary experimental results on the photodissociation of toluene and benzene are given. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.