Optimizing pulsed-laser ablation production of AlCl molecules for laser cooling.

Aluminum monochloride (AlCl) has been proposed as a promising candidate for laser cooling to ultracold temperatures, and recent spectroscopy results support this prediction. It is challenging to produce large numbers of AlCl molecules because it is a highly reactive open-shell molecule and must be generated . Here we show that pulsed-laser ablation of stable, non-toxic mixtures of Al with alkali or alkaline earth chlorides, denoted XCl, can provide a robust and reliable source of cold AlCl molecules.