Optically pumped alkali vapor lasers have been constructed using excitation of the D2 line (2P3/2-2S1/2) followed by lasing on the D1 line (2P1/2-2S1/2). Collisional relaxation is used to transfer population from 2P3/2 to the 2P1/2 level. The collision partner used for this step must have a large cross section for inducing transfer between the 2PJ levels, combined with a very small cross section for electronic quenching of the form M(2PJ)+Q→M(2S1/2)+Q (where M is an alkali metal and Q is the energy transfer agent). Ethane has proved to be an effective energy transfer agent for optically pumped Rb and Cs lasers. However, modeling of data for the Rb/C2H6 laser with the literature value for the quenching rate constant was unsuccessful. We have reexamined the quenching of Rb(2PJ) by C2H6 using time-resolved fluorescence techniques. Radiation trapping was significant under the conditions of our measurements, and an analysis of the interplay between the kinetics of trapping and quenching was carried out. It was found that quenching of Rb(2PJ) by C2H6 was very inefficient. The upper bound established for the quenching cross section was two orders of magnitude lower than that indicated by the previous determination.
Optically pumped alkali vapor lasers have been constructed using excitation of the D2 line (2P3/2-2S1/2) followed by lasing on the D1 line (2P1/2-2S1/2). Collisional relaxation is used to transfer population from 2P3/2 to the 2P1/2 level. The collision partner used for this step must have a large cross section for inducing transfer between the 2PJ levels, combined with a very small cross section for electronic quenching of the form M(2PJ)+Q→M(2S1/2)+Q (where M is an alkali metal and Q is the energy transfer agent). Ethane has proved to be an effective energy transfer agent for optically pumped Rb and Cs lasers. However, modeling of data for the Rb/C2H6 laser with the literature value for the quenching rate constant was unsuccessful. We have reexamined the quenching of Rb(2PJ) by C2H6 using time-resolved fluorescence techniques. Radiation trapping was significant under the conditions of our measurements, and an analysis of the interplay between the kinetics of trapping and quenching was carried out. It was found that quenching of Rb(2PJ) by C2H6 was very inefficient. The upper bound established for the quenching cross section was two orders of magnitude lower than that indicated by the previous determination.
An experimental study using time-resolved fluorescence techniques together with theoretical simulations has been conducted and used to determine the quenching cross-sections of rubidium–methane and rubidium–ethane. Radiation trapping was significant under many of the experimental conditions (temperatures 40–130 °C and pressures 50–700 Torr) and a detailed analysis of the interplay between radiation trapping and quenching kinetics was carried out. Modifications of the Holstein equation for radiation trapping were implemented to account for the quasi-2 level behaviour of the Rb atom for high buffer gas pressures, the absolute frequency-dependent absorption cross-section for Rb with variable buffer gas pressures which accounts for the hyperfine splitting of 87 Rb and modification of the trapping factors so that radiation trapping and quenching by an additive quenching gas could be treated simultaneously. Experimental results supported by theoretical simulations bound the quenching cross-sections (σ) of methane and ethane at 40 °C to be σ ⩽ 0.019 Å 2 and σ ⩽ 0.033 Å 2 , respectively. These values are nearly two orders of magnitude smaller than previously reported.
The radiation of a laser photoexcited Rb atoms from the ground state to the 5P3/2 level in a mixture of Rb vapor and hydrogen. The energy-pooling collision 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 --> 5S1/2 + 5D producted 5D state. The Rb (5P3/2) density and spatial distribution were mapped by monitoring the absorption of a counter-propagating laser beam, tuned to the 5P3/2 --> 7S1/2 transition, which could be translated parallel to the pump beam. In the presence of radiation trapping, the spontaneous radiation rate is multiplied by the transmission factor T5P3/2 --> 5S1/2, which describes the average probability that photons emitted within the fluorescence detection region can pass through the optically thick vapor without being absorbed. The T5P3/2 --> 5S1/2 is related to the frequency dependent absorption cross section and the density and spatial distribution of atoms in the level of the transition. The effective radiative rates of the Rb D2 line as a function of the H2 pressure were obtained. These quantities were combined with the measured excited atom density and fluorescence ratio to yield absolute energy-pooling rate coefficient. The quenching collision Rb (5P3/2) + H2 (v = 0) --> Rb(5S) + H2 (v = 2) producted state H2 (v= 2). This process is at least 16 times faster than the Rb (5P3/2) radiative decay rate. The reverse process of this process is relatively unlikely due to their large translational energy defect. The cross section for the process H2 (v = 2) + H2 (v = 0) --> H2 (vn = 1) + H2 (v = 0) + 3 920.2 cm(-1) is 7.7 x 10(-19) cm2. Hence the relaxation rate of this vibrational level is relatively slow and the nuclear spin statistics is conserved. The H2 (v = 2) density was determined by using the cross section for Rb (5P3/2)-H2 quenching. RbH was fromed by the Rb(5D) + H2 and Rb (5P3/2) + H2 (v = 2) reactions and observed by laser absorption. The ratio of 5D --> 5P3/2 to 5P3/2 --> 5S1/2 fluorescence was measured as a function of the H2 density. The absorption of the laser beam tuned to the X1sigma+ --> A1sigma+ line of RbH was also measured as a function of the H2 density. From these measurements we obtained the cross section of 4.02 x 10(-7) cm2 for the process Rb (5D) + H2 --> RbH + H. The cross section for Rb (5P3/2) + H2 (upsilon = 2) --> RbH + H is 1.00 x 10(-8) cm2. This experiment showed that under our experimental conditions, RbH molecules are not created by a direct interaction of Rb(5P) with H2 but through a two-step reaction.
Energy pooling (EP) was observed in Rb vapor following pulsed optical excitation to the 5P1/2 state. The 5P3/2 state was populated by the energy transfer process: Rb(5P1/2)+Rb(5S1/2) --> Rb(5P3/2)+Rb(5Sl/2). The resulting densities of Rb atoms at the 5P1/2 level were obtained from the absorption of narrow spectral line from a Rb hollow cathode lamp, connecting the 5P1/2 state to 7S state. Since the effective lifetimes of the 5P1/2 and 5P3/2 states are approximately equal, the densities of the 5P3/2 level were obtained from the D2 to D1 fluorescence ratios where D1 and D2 are lines of the 5P1/2 --> 5S1/2 and 5P3/2 --> 5S1/2 transition. Because the time of the fine structure exchanging is much shorter than the lifetime of the 5D state, the fluorescence originating from the 5D state produced by the 5P1/2 + 5P3/2 and 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 processes follows the instantaneous production rate of the 5P1/2 + 5P1/2 process. It is clear that 5P/2 + 5P3/2 and 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 collisions can significantly influence the results obtained for the 5P1/2 + 5P1/2 rate since the energy defect for 5D state is much smaller for 5P1/2 + 5P3/2 and 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 collisions than for 5P1/2 + 5P1/2 collisions. Effective lifetimes of the 5P levels were calculated using radiation trapping theory. The time-integrated populations and signals were studied and analyzed. The resulting fluorescence included the direct component emitted in the decay of the optically excited 5P1/2 state and the sensitized component arising from the collisions for populating 5D state at different cell temperature. These relative intensities were combined with the measured excited atom densities to yield absolute energy-pooling rate coefficients. The cross sections (in units of 10(-14) cm2) for the energy-pooling collisions [i. e. , 5P1/2 + 5P1/2, 5P1/2 + 5P3/2, 5P3/2 + 5P3/2] are 0.78, 2.9 and 3.1, respectively. The dependence of the rates upon energy defect deltaE was examined, but the 5D3/2 level was approximately equally populated in 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 (deltaE = 68 cm(-1)) and 5P3/2 + 5P1/2 (deltaE = 306 cm(-1)) collisions. The 5P1/2 + 5P3/2 collisions are as efficient as 5P3/2 + 5P3/2 for populating 5D3/2 state.
At different Rb densities,Rb vapor was irradiated in a glass fluorescence cell with pulses of radiation from a pumped-laser,populating Rb 2 (B 1 Π u)state by single-photon absorption.Energy transfer in Rb 2 (B 1 Π u) + Rb(5S) collision is studied using methods of atomic and molecular fluorescence.The decay signal of time-resolved fluorescence from B 1 Π u → X 1 Σ + g transition was monitored.The effective lifetimes of the B 1 Π u state can be resolved.The plot of reciprocal of effective lifetimes of the B 1 Π u state against Rb densities yielded the slope that indicated the total cross section for deactivation and the intercept that provided the radiative lifetime of the state.The radiative lifetime 23.5ns for the B 1 Π u is obtained.The cross section for deactivation of the Rb 2 (B 1 Π u) molecules by collisions with Rb atoms is σ 3=(4.33 ± 0.14) × 10-15 cm 2.At the different Rb densities,the time-integrated intensities of the resulting Rb emission lines.I(5P 3/2 → 5S 1/2) and I(5P 1/2 → 5S 1/2) were measured.The absolute values for Rb 2 (B 1 Π u)+Rb→ Rb 2 (1 1 Σ + g) + Rb(5P J)collisional transfer cross sections have been obtained.The cross sections are σ 31=(2.86 ± 0.13) × 10-16 cm 2 (for transferring to 5P 1/2) and σ 32=(8.30 ± 0.38) × 10-16 cm 2 (for transferring to 5P 3/2),respectively.
Applying the CW laser absorption and fluorescence method,the cross sections for the fine structure mixing and quenching of the Rb(5P)state,induced by collision with N2 molecules,have been measured.Cesium atoms were optically excited to the 5P3/2 state.The excited atom density and spatial distribution were mapped by monitoring the absorption of a counterpropagating single mode laser beam,turned to the 5PJ→7S1/2 transitions.The effective radiative rates were calculated for the 5PJ→5S transitions.The fluorescence intensity I794 of the sensitized 5P1/2→5S1/2 emission was measured as a function of N2 density in the range 0.5×1016N4×1016cm-3 at constant temperature T=340 K.It was found that the quantity N/I794 exhibited a parabolic dependence on N,confirming that the quenching of the 5PJ states is due to collision with N2 molecules,not Rb ground state atoms.The coefficients of the second-order polynomial fitted through the measured data yielded the cross sections σ3/2→1/2=(10.43±3.54)×10-16cm2 and σD=(9.8±3.4)×10-16cm2 for the 5PJ fine-structure mixing and quenching,respectively,due to collision with N2 atoms.Our values for these cross sections are in agreement,within combined error bars,with values we have recently obtained under different experimental conditions.
52P1/2 ↔ 52P3/2 mixing and 52S1/2 ← 52P1/2, 2P3/2 quenching in rubidium, induced in collisions with ground state H2, HD, D2, N2, CH4, CD4, C2H4, and C2H6 molecules, have been investigated using methods of sensitized fluorescence. The rubidium vapor mixed with each of the gases was excited in turn by each component of the rubidium resonance doublet, and the resulting fluorescence, emitted at right angles to the direction of the exciting light, was resolved into the two fine-structure components whose intensity ratios were measured in relation to the gas pressure using photon counting techniques. The measurements yielded the following cross sections for the mixing and quenching collisions.For H2: Q12(2P1/2 → 2P3/2) = 11 Å2, Q21(2P1/2 ← 2P3/2) = 15 Å2, Q10(2S1/2 ← 2P1/2) = 6 Å2, Q20(2S1/2 ← 2P3/2) = 3 Å2.[Formula: see text]The mixing cross sections agree with theoretical values within an order of magnitude.