First experiments with a laser ablation source at the COALA setup

A laser ablation ion source has been built and tested at the COALA beamline. Time-of-flight measurements for various elements are sufficiently accurate to confirm the production of the intended ion species. Furthermore, the isotope shift between ⁴⁰Ca⁺ and ⁴⁴Ca⁺ has been determined on these bunched beams by collinear laser spectroscopy and compared to previous measurements. The frequency of the 4s²S₁/₂ → 4p²P₁/₂ transition has been determined to ν₀ᴰ¹=755222766.8(15) MHz for ⁴⁰Ca⁺, as well as the corresponding isotope shift of ⁴⁴Ca⁺ to 848.1(23) MHz. This is in a good agreement to more accurate measurements performed in a recent ion trap experiment and demonstrates the strength of the collinear-anticollinear approach to reduce systematic effects caused by the broad velocity distribution generated in the ablation process.