Metal clusters show an amazing diversity of chemical, optical, magnetic properties. A detailed understanding of the physics behind these properties requires careful experimental control over all interactions which can affect the clusters. In this way, we can determine which properties are intrinsic to a cluster and observe how these properties are changed by a cluster's chemical or surface environment. Molecular beams provide the ideal experimental platform for these experimental studies. The clusters fly in a straight line in high vacuum with no collisions, from generation to detection.
Below we list several of the experimental tools that are used in the Cluster Lab at Georgia Tech to investigate cluster properties. The molecular beam cluster machine is shown in schematic simplicity above, while the harsh reality of such an advanced experimental setup is shown below.
