Coulomb explosion of molecules driven by femtosecond laser pulses

When molecules are irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses, multiple ionization occurs and multiply charged molecular ions are generated. Due to the Coulomb repulsive force, multiply charged molecular ions will quickly dissociate into fragmental ions with high kinetic energy through the process of so-called Coulomb explosion. In this review article, we introduce the important achievements, potential applications and future development of laser-driven Coulomb explosion of molecules based on the study of Coulomb explosion of molecules by intense femtosecond laser pulses at Peking University.