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Generation of picosecond ion pulses using laser-stimulated desorption from a tungsten nanotip

Alexander Redl1,*, Markus Goldberger1, Christoph Pachlinger1, Franz I. Pfanner2, and Richard A. Wilhelm1,†

  • *Contact author: redl@iap.tuwien.ac.at
  • †Contact author: wilhelm@iap.tuwien.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043317 – Published 19 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7wdx-97pf

Abstract

We present an experimental approach to the formation of sub-100 ps ion pulses at 4.5−8.5 keV energies using laser-stimulated desorption from a tungsten nanotip at room temperature. The illumination of the tip apex with femtosecond ultraviolet laser pulses results in the ionization of adsorbed atomic and molecular species through the enhancement of a localized electric field. Unlike photoionization of atoms and molecules in the gas phase in extended volumes, determined by a typical laser focal volume, our approach naturally exploits a nanometric ionization region from tungsten nanotips with tip radii of 15−150nm and operates at a moderate optical fluence of 1011W/cm2. Time-of-flight measurements demonstrate stable and well-timed ion pulses. A systematic exploration of the ion pulse characteristics on laser parameters and loading gas pressures has been conducted. Our compact, yet simple, source design renders time-resolved ion-solid interaction studies practically possible, paving the way for future pump-probe studies.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043317– Published 19 December, 2025
  • Received 8 September 2025
  • Accepted 24 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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