Native German, Albert Ruth, studied at the Technical University in Darmstadt and the University of Göttingen in Germany, where he graduated with a Diplom in Physics. His Ph.D. work at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) was concerned with relaxation processes of triplet state molecules in solution at low temperatures. During his time as a Post-Doc with the MPI Göttingen (Germany), FORTH in Crete (Greece) and UCC, A.R. "left the liquid phase" and discovered the beauty of gas phase excitation spectra, in particular of jet-cooled aromatic compounds. In UCC he started to combine jet spectroscopy with the novel cavity ring-down absorption technique. After his return to the Technical University in Berlin A.R. further developed an expertise in ultra-sensitive absorption techniques for which he obtained the 'Habilitation' in Experimental Physics. In 1999 he returned to UCC as a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry and as an associate member the Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry. In Summer 2003 he joint the Physics Department where he established the Laser Spectroscopy Group as College Lecturer in Experimental Physics.

 

Laser spectroscopy and photophysics of compounds in gas, liquid and solid phases. Current research is directed towards the following topics:

  • Applications of cavity ring-down spectroscopy to relevant problems in atmospheric chemistry.
  • Radical kinetics and trace gas detection.
  • Development of compact instruments for future field experiments.
  • Spectroscopy of triplet manifolds in aromatic compounds in seeded supersonic jets.
  • Investigation of weak forbidden transitions in large jet-cooled aromatics.
  • Formation of noble metal colloids in suspension using laser ablation.
  • Third order nonlinear properties of novel materials, including porphyrins and metal colloids.

Experimental techniques employed are:

  • Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRD)
  • Diode laser based Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (CEA)
  • Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) or Phosphorescence (LIP)
  • Multi-Photon Excitation (MPE) and Ionization(MPI)
  • Z-scan method
  • Laser ablation technique
     

• S. Dixneuf, A.A. Ruth*, S. Vaughan, R.M. Varma, J. Orphal; "The time dependence of molecular iodine emission from Laminaria digitata", Atm. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 8 (2008) 16501-16516.

• S. Vaughan, T. Gherman, A.A. Ruth*, J. Orphal; "Incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy of the marine boundary layer species I2, IO and OIO", Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 10 (2008) 4471-4477.

• D. O'Leary, J. Orphal, A.A. Ruth*, U. Heitmann, P. Chelin, C.E. Fellows; "The cavity-enhanced absorption spectrum of NH3 in the near-infrared region between 6850 and 7000 cm–1", J. Quant. Spectr. Rad. Trans., 109 (2008) 1004-1015. Special Issue on Planetary Atmospheres

• T. Gherman, D.S. Venables, S. Vaughan, J. Orphal, A.A. Ruth*; "Incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy in the near-ultraviolet: Application to HONO and NO2", Env. Scien. Techn., 42 (2008) 890-895.

• A.A. Ruth*, J. Orphal, S.E. Fiedler; "Cavity Enhanced Fourier Transform Absorption Spectroscopy using an Incoherent Broadband Light Source", Appl. Opt., 46 (2007) 3611-3616.

• A.A. Ruth, B. Nickel; "Spin-lattice relaxation and rotational motion of aromatic triplet state molecules in supercooled alkane solvents", J. Phys. Chem. A, 110 (2006) 31380-3150.

• A.A. Ruth, J.A. Young; "Generation of CdSe and CdTe nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquids", Colloids and Surfaces A, Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 279 (2006) 121-127.
• M. Staak, E.W. Gash, D.S. Venables, A.A. Ruth; "The rotationally-resolved absorption spectrum of formaldehyde from 6547 to 6804 cm-1", J. Mol. Spectr., 229 (2005) 115-121.

 

• S.E. Fiedler, A. Hese, A.A. Ruth; "Incoherent broad-band cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy in liquids", Rev. Sci. Instrum., 76 (2005) 023107 and 76 (2005) 089901 (Err.).
 
• B. Nickel, P. Borowicz, A.A. Ruth and J. Troe; "Application of Smoluchowski’s generalized theory to the kinetics of  triplet-triplet annihilation of anthracene in viscous solution after long-pulse excitation", Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 6 (2004) 3350-3363.
 
• S.E. Fiedler, G. Hoheisel, A.A. Ruth and A. Hese; "Incoherent broad-band cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy of azulene in a supersonic jet", Chem. Phys. Lett., 382 (2003) 447-453.
 
• S.E. Fiedler, A. Hese and A.A. Ruth; "Incoherent broad-band cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy", Chem. Phys. Lett., 371 (2003) 284-294.
 
• A.A. Ruth, H. Lesche and B. Nickel; "Temperature Dependence of Viscosity and Density of several commonly used organic solvents", Z. Phys. Chem., 217 (2003) 1-16.
 
• R.P. Brint, W.G. Doherty and A.A. Ruth; "The phosphorescence excitation spectrum jet-cooled xanthione in the region of the T1->S0 and S1->S0 absorption transition", J. Mol. Spectr., 216 (2002) 151-158.
• A.A. Ruth, E.W. Gash, M. Staak and S.E. Fiedler; "Multi-photon UV photolysis of naphthalene-gas mixtures: A new gas-phase oscillatory system", Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 4 (2002) 5217-5220.
 
• A.A. Ruth, T. Fernholz, R.P. Brint and M.W.D. Mansfield; "The T1->S0 absorption spectrum of gaseous 4H-pyran-4-thione", J. Mol. Spectr., 214 (2002) 80-86.

 

 

   01 September 2008