Laser vaporization generation of 69Ga31P+ and 71Ga31P+ for neon matrix electron spin resonance studies: Electronic structure comparison with GaAs+

The 69GaP+ and 71GaP+ molecular ions have been generated by the combined methods of photoionization/laser vaporization for trapping in neon matrices at 4 K for electron spin resonance (ESR) investigation. The ground electronic state of GaP+ has been determined as X 4∑ and its electronic structure based on nuclear hyperfine properties is compared with the isovalent ion, GaAs+. The magnetic parameters (MHz) for Ga31P+ are: g⊥ =1.9836(5); A⊥ (69Ga)=188.6(1); A⊥ (71Ga)=239.4(1); A∥ (69Ga)=260(30); A∥ (71Ga)=300(10); A⊥ (31P)=108.0(1); and A∥ (31P)≊200(150). The g and A values observed for 31P(4S1/2) atoms in these neon matrices show closer agreement with the gas phase parameters compared to previous values reported for the heavier rare gases.