MEASUREMENT OF SUB-NANOSECOND SINGLE-ROVIBRONIC FLUORESCENCE WITH A PULSED DYE LASER

A method of fluorescence-decay measurement of sub-nanosecond time-resolution is presented which employs a narrow band pulsed dye laser for molecular excitation and a computer-controlled waveform digitizer for decay-data recording. The kinematical parameters of single rovibronic molecular relaxation are thereby deduced routinely from the observed time-evolution of fluorescence decay through a curve-fitting procedure of convolution-integral treatment. A specimen observation of fluorescing dye solution demonstrates the capability of determining fluorescence decay time as short as 0. 2 ns with a precision of better than plus or minus 0. 05 ns. The method was applied to a systematic single rovibronic observation of fluorescence from the predissociative state of interhalogen molecule.