Abstract
The initial kinetic energy of laser-ablated Zn cation has been investigated via time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The flight times of the ions have been measured with a high voltage pulse on the extract electrode in the mass spectrometer, which has been delayed from the laser pulse. The time-of-flight equation including the initial kinetic energy term of the ion has been derived for the mass spectrometer. The optimum value of the initial kinetic energy has been extracted by fitting the measured flight times into the time-of-flight equation. The initial kinetic energy of the ions generated by Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) at the power density of 5 × 107 W/cm2 has been determined to be 22-44 kJ/mol.