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Physical Review Letters

Multiphoton Ionization Enhancement Using Two Phase-Coherent Laser Pulses

R. R. Jones

Published Aug 21, 1995• 64 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Modulations in the multiphoton ionization yield in Na are observed as a function of the relative delay between two identical 150 fsec laser pulses. The first pulse populates a coherent superposition state composed of ground and excited levels. The ionization yield during the second pulse depends on its phase relative to that of the nonstationary superposition state. Ionization enhancements of more than an order of magnitude can be achieved by exploiting coherences in the atom-laser system.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.75.1491

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Modulations in the multiphoton ionization yield in Na are observed as a function of the relative delay between two identical 150 fsec laser pulses. The first pulse populates a coherent superposition state composed of ground and excited levels. The ionization yield during the second pulse depends on its phase relative to that of the nonstationary superposition state. Ionization enhancements of more than an order of magnitude can be achieved by exploiting coherences in the atom-laser system.
The effect of temporal coherent control on the two-photon-resonant third-harmonic generation and multiphoton ionization into the continuum states of an atomic system is experimentally and theoretically investigated by means of a pair of partially incoherent, identical laser pulses. The evidence of quantum interference as a function of the delay between the pulses is reported. The transition from the resonant to the nonresonant case is also shown. The obtained results agree with the prediction of a theoretical model showing that the onset of quantum interference appears to be related to the coherence time of the laser radiation, which is much shorter than the pulse duration.
We have investigated multiphoton-ionization passages of rubidium atoms initiated from the excited 5P3/25{P}_{3/2}5P3/2​ energy state. For this we used coherent control schemes based on femtosecond laser pulse shaping applied to cold atoms spatially isolated in a magneto-optical trap. With programed laser pulses of spectral $\ensuremath{\pi}$-phase step, of which location was varied within the laser spectrum, the sequential two-photon-ionization passage along the 5P3/25{P}_{3/2}5P3/2​-5D5D5D continuum was probed in terms of trap-loss spectroscopy. The coherent control two-photon-ionization method unveiled not only the resonantly enhanced two-photon ionization but also the asymmetric nature of the ionization profile structure given as a function of the spectral phase step location. Experimental results show good agreement with the second-order perturbation calculation of the constituent possible ionization passages.
An experimental study of doubly resonant multiphoton ionization of Na has been carried out. Coherence effects, such as AC - Stark splitting and population trapping, have been manifested in different coupling schemes, i.e. ladder, lambda, vee configurations. These effects have been investigated in terms of their dependence on the laser intensity and resonance detuning, as well as the state of the laser polarization. The experimental results are qualitatively interpreted in terms of a few level system.