Resonance-ionization spectroscopy (RIS) is an extremely sensitive and highly selective analytical measurement method. It employs lasers to eject electrons from selected types of atoms or molecules, splitting the neutral species into a positive ion and a free electron with a negative charge. Those ions or electrons are then detected and counted by various means to identify elements or compounds and determine their concentration in a sample. The RIS method was originated in the 1970s and is now used in a growing number of applications to advance knowledge in physics, chemistry, and biology. It is applied in a wide variety of practical measurement systems because it offers the combined advantages of high selectivity between different types of atoms and sensitivity at the one-atom level.
Applications of a simple atom counter include physical and chemical studies of defined populations of atoms. More advanced systems incorporate various forms of mass spectrometers, which offer the additional feature of isotopic selectivity. These more elaborate RIS systems can be used, for instance, to date lunar materials and meteorites, study old groundwater and ice caps, measure the neutrino output of the Sun, determine trace elements in electronic-grade materials, search for resources such as oil, gold, and platinum, study the role of trace elements in medicine and biology, determine DNA structure, and address a number of environmental problems.
Ionization processes
Basic energy considerations
A basic understanding of atomic structure is necessary for the study of resonance ionization (see above Basic atomic structure). Unless an atom is subjected to some external influence, it will be in the state of lowest energy (ground state) in which the electrons systematically fill all the orbits from those nearest the nucleus outward to some larger orbit containing the outermost (valence) electrons. A valence electron can be promoted to an orbit even farther from the nucleus if it absorbs a photon. To initiate the excitation, the photon must have an energy that lies within a very narrow range, as the energies of all the orbits surrounding the nucleus, including the unfilled ones, are rigorously prescribed by quantum mechanics. Each element has its own unique set of energy levels, which is the foundation for both emission spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy. Ionization of an atom occurs when an electron is completely stripped from the atom and ejected into the ionization continuum. The gap between energy possessed by an atom in its ground state and the energy level at the edge of the ionization continuum is the ionization potential.
The photon energies used in the resonance (stepwise) ionization of an atom (or molecule) are too low to ionize the atom directly from its ground state; thus, at least two steps are used. The first absorption is a resonance process, as illustrated in the examples in , that ensures that the ionization will not be observed unless the laser is tuned to the atom—i.e., operating at the appropriate wavelength. Quantum mechanics does not restrict the energy of free electrons in the continuum, and so a photon of any minimum energy can be absorbed to complete the resonance-ionization process.
With certain pulsed lasers, the two-photon RIS process can be saturated so that one electron is removed from each atom of the selected type. Furthermore, ionization detectors can be used to sense a single electron or positive ion. Therefore, individual atoms can be counted. By taking advantage of tunable laser technology to implement a variety of RIS schemes, it is feasible to detect almost every atom in the periodic table. The combined features of selectivity, sensitivity, and generality make RIS suitable for a wide variety of applications.
RIS schemes
In one simple scheme, two photons from the same laser cause resonance ionization of an atom, as illustrated in . A single wavelength must be chosen to excite the atom from its ground state to an excited state, while the second photon completes the ionization process. For example, to achieve resonance ionization in the cesium atom that has an ionization potential of only 3.9 electron volts, this two-step process, shown in , works well with a single-colour laser at the wavelength of 459.3 nanometres, or a photon energy of about 2.7 electron volts. (Photon energies and atomic energy levels are given in units of electron volts [eV], or in wavelength units of nanometres [nm]. A useful and approximate relationship between the two is easy to remember since eV = 1,234/nm.) Similar schemes have been used for other alkali atoms because these atoms also have low ionization potentials.
For most atoms, more elaborate resonance-ionization schemes than the simple two-step process shown in are required. The higher the ionization potential of the atom, the more complex is the process. For example, the inert element krypton has an ionization potential of 14.0 electron volts and requires a more elaborate RIS scheme of the type shown in . The first step is a resonance transition at the wavelength of 116.5 nanometres, followed by a second resonance step at 558.1 nanometres. Subsequent ionization of this second excited state is accomplished with a long wavelength, such as 1,064 nanometres. Generation of the 116.5-nanometre radiation requires a complex laser scheme. In another useful type of RIS scheme, shown in , the atom is excited to a level very near the ionization continuum and exists in a so-called Rydberg state. In such a state the electron has been promoted to an orbit that is so far from the nucleus that it is scarcely bound. Even an electric field of moderate strength can be pulsed to remove the electron and complete the resonance-ionization process. With the schemes discussed above and reasonable variations of them, all the elements in nature can be detected with RIS except for two of the inert gases—helium and neon.