Field-free alignment of molecules at room temperature.

Field-free alignment of N(2), O(2), CO, CO(2), CS(2), and C(2)H(4) molecules was experimentally achieved at room temperature by using 800 nm, 110 fs laser pulses at an intensity of 6x10(13) W/cm(2). An enhanced degree of alignment was also demonstrated by using two pulses with appropriate separation times. These results indicate that multi-pulse alignment is a feasible approach to provide macroscopic ensembles of highly aligned molecules for practical applications.