Doppler-free/Doppler-sliced ion imaging

We demonstrate a hybrid Doppler-free/Doppler-sliced ion imaging approach that is well-suited for detection of H or D atoms. The method relies on 2 + 1 resonant ionization with identical, nearly counterpropagating beams that are coplanar but directed at a small angle relative to the detector face. This results in Doppler selection of the velocity component along the time of flight axis but Doppler-free detection in the plane perpendicular to this axis. The results show high signal level and excellent slicing (similar to 5%), yielding velocity resolution completely determined by cation recoil in the ionization step.