Aerosols and trace gases have a major impact on climate change and human health. The aim of this work is the precise, time-resolved and spatially resolved mass spectrometric characterization of the analyte.

Photoionization with fs laser pulses (femto second laser pulses) is particularly suitable for the soft, precise and fragment free ionization of aerosols and trace gases in gas phase. The combination of fs laser ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) opens up new perspectives for efficient online monitoring of the analyte.