Apparatus for measurements on the fragmentation of MeV molecular-ion beams

Abstract

An apparatus for the study of the fragmentation of MeV molecular ions is described. The system permits high-resolution measurement of the joint distribution in energy and angle for fragment ions of selected charge and mass. Two movable detectors allow the study of spatial and temporal correlations among up to three fragments resulting from a single dissociation event. All experimental parameters are monitored, controlled, displayed, and recorded by a computer system that uses a linked network of four processors. Real-time, computer-generated color graphics are employed to give a visual rendition of the relation between the detector positions and the trajectories of outgoing fragments.