Measurement of the three-photon detachment cross sections of the negative ions of iodine, bromine and fluorine at the wavelength 1.0642 mu m

The three-photon detachment cross sections of the ions F^-, Br^- and I^- are measured, using the fundamental 1064.2 nm wavelength of a single-mode Nd:YAG laser. The detachment signal is measured by detecting the neutral atoms produced from an ionic beam of kinetic energy 1.2 keV. The data analysis takes into account the laser pulse time profile, the actual spatial profile of the laser beam in the interaction region, and the fast motion of the ions through the laser beam during the laser pulse. Saturation of the three-photon process is observed and used to normalise the detachment signal. The authors obtain sigma (F-)=6.1^$+^2.6 _-1.8*10^-95 s² m⁶, sigma (Br-)=1.6^+0.8_-0.6*10^-94 m⁶ and sigma (I-)=3.3⁺¹⁶_-1.1*10^-94 s ² m⁶. These measured cross sections are compared with theoretical predictions. The result obtained on F^- agrees with a very recent measurement performed with a different technique.