Attosecond control of molecular tunneling ionization by asymmetric, phase-controlled, two-color laser fields: Molecular control at room temperature

Attosecond molecular control without using attosecond light pulses made it possible to avoid the loss of information and disturbances due to random thermal motions of molecules at room temperature. I examined the orientation-selective molecular tunneling ionization induced at room temperature by linearly polarized, femtosecond, phase-controlled laser fields consisting of a fundamental and a second harmonic light with a pulse duration of 130 fs and an intensity of 5 × 10 13 W/cm 2 . I confirmed that orientation-selective molecular tunneling ionization occurred even at room temperature and pressures up to 1.5 Pa. Such molecular control at room temperature not only removed the limitation on the laser repetition rate to enable highly sensitive measurements, but it also enabled a significant reduction in the size of the instrument. Graphical abstract • Orientation-selective molecular tunneling ionization (OSM-TI) induced by phase-controlled ω + 2ω laser fields was examined. • Ion yield asymmetry parameters Ayield reflecting orientation selectivity were analyzed. • OSM-TI worked even at room temperature and pressures up to 1.5 Pa. • Molecular control at room temperature leads to improve the performance of measurement apparatuses.