Intensity-resolved above-threshold ionization of xenon with short laser pulses

We present intensity-resolved above-threshold ionization (ATI) spectra of xenon using an intensity scanning and deconvolution technique. Experimental data were obtained with laser pulses of 58 fs and a central wavelength of 800 nm from a chirped-pulse amplifier. Applying a deconvolution algorithm, we obtained spectra that have higher contrast and are in excellent agreement with characteristic two and ten Up cutoff energies contrary to that found for raw data. The retrieved electron-ionization probability is consistent with the presence of a second electron from double ionization. This recovered ionization probability is confirmed with a calculation based on the Perelomov, Popov, and Terent’ev tunneling ionization model [Sov. Phys. JETP 23, 924 (1966)]. Thus, the measurements of the photoelectron yields and the developed deconvolution technique allowed retrieval of more accurate spectroscopic information from the ATI spectra and ionization probability features that usually are concealed by volume averaging.