Gas phase

The application of spectroscopic techniques typical of solid state physics to free clusters is a hard task due to the low density and short life of the particles in the beam.
Past experiments were able to overcome this problem only for spectroscopic characterization of free rare gas clusters, by the use a very intense inert gas cluster sources and synchrotron light sources. Nevertheless, the realization of similar experiments with refractory material cluster beams remains a challenge, since the production of intense beams of metallic nanoparticles (while keeping UHV standards) is very difficult.

The use of the PMCS can successfully overcome these limits by the production of cluster beams with unprecedented intensity, stability and collimation. The LGM laboratory is thus active in the field of gas phase characterization of carbon, metal and oxides clusters, and was recently awarded by the prestigious Italian institute "Accademia dei Lincei" of the Tartufari Prize for its activity in this field.

The main research activities of the LGM group in the gas phase field are the following:

1. CESYRA@GasPhase experiment: core electron spectroscopy measurements of free titanium clusters performed at the GasPhase beamline of the Elettra synchrotron.


2. CESYRA@EUFELE experiment: Resonant Raman spectroscopy of free carbon clusters performed at the ring-FEL EUFELE sited at the Elettra synchrotron.


3. ULISSE project