Cs+ ions produced out of a laser cooled atom beam
1 : Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi and CNISM, Università di Pisa Largo Bruno Pontecorvo, 3 56127 Pisa - Italy
2 : Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del CNR, Sezione di Pisa (INO-CNR) 56127 Pisa - Italy
A simple two-photon two-color, one resonant, scheme is applied to photoionize Cs atoms belonging to a “slow and cold” atom beam produced out of a pyramidal Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). The ion yield is analyzed as a function of the experimental parameters by a charge detector. Results acquired so far demonstrate that the specific sub-thermal properties of the atom beam strongly affect the ion dynamics, in particular its monochromatic character.