Abstract

The effect of optical excitation on the interaction between a gas phase or adsorbed species and a surface is currently a topic of active research. Although considerable attention has been paid to the interaction of vibrationally excited molecules with surfaces,^1,2 the influence of electronic excitation of gas phase atomic species on the dynamics of inelastic surface scattering and the surface sticking coefficient³ has not been explored in detail. We describe an approach in which a near-resonant laser radiation field induces a coherent superposition of states in an atom incident on a surface. The theory predicts the enhancement of the sticking coefficient due to the resonant excitation of quasi atom-surface states.

© 1987 Optical Society of America