Abstract
We image spatial distributions of ions in the focus of a laser beam of ultrashort, intense pulses in all three dimensions, with a resolution of and in the two transverse directions. This allows for studying ionization processes without spatially averaging ion yields. Our in situ ion imaging is also useful to analyze focal intensity profiles and to investigate the transverse modal purity of tightly focused beams of complex light. As an example, the intensity profile of a Hermite-Gaussian beam mode recorded with ions is found to be in good agreement with optical images.
- Received 10 August 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.023002
©2008 American Physical Society