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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/M53516/01
Title: SPATIAL CONTROL OF MOLECULAR MOTION VIA THE STARK EFFECT IN RYDBERG STATES
Principal Investigator: Softley, Professor T
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Oxford Chemistry
Organisation: University of Oxford
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 September 1999 Ends: 28 February 2003 Value (£): 236,254
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Gas & Solution Phase Reactions
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Chemicals Electronics
Energy No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The use of inhomogeneous electric fields will be developed to control the translational motion of molecular Rydberg states. The selection of an individual field-shifted energy level in a Rydberg state of principal quantum number n=20, gives the molecules a dipole moment of up to 1500 Debye. The energy varies linearly with field strength and therefore in an inhomogeneous field the molecule will tend to move in the direction of decreasing energy. Schemes are proposed for deflection and focussing using dipolar, quadrupolar and hexapolar electrode geometries, based on detailed simulations of trajectory and energy levels. Using potentials in the range 100 V to 1 kV, deflections of order centimetres are predicted in 100 us or less. The Rydberg states in a molecular beam diverging from a focal volume of order 10 um should be refocussed a few cm downstream into a volume of comparable dimensions. The practicalities, including the use of time-dependent fields, will be investigated with a view to applications in scattering experiments and controlled deposition on surfaces.
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Organisation Website: http://www.ox.ac.uk