Laser vaporization of alloys: Laser induced fluorescence of heteronuclear metal clusters

We demonstrate in this manuscript that the laser vaporization–laser induced fluorescence technique can be a very useful tool in studies of heteronuclear metal molecules. We examine here the products of vaporization of copper with the group III A elements Ga and In. The electronic transitions of CuGa and CuIn diatomics are reported and discussed, as well as some new observations of the Cu2 spectra and dynamics. It is also shown that the metals are initially vaporized in an atomic form and that the molecular species are formed collisionally in the gas phase.