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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Laser isotope enrichment of lithium by magnetic deflection of a polarized atomic beam

Zhu Xiwen, Huang Gui-long, Mei Ganghua, Delin Yang

Published Aug 14, 1992• 10 citations

Abstract

The authors have succeeded in demonstrating laser isotope enrichment via magnetic deflection of a polarized atomic beam. By using a single dye laser with the frequency tuned to the two accidentally close transitions of the natural lithium (2 2 S 1/2 (F=1/2) to 2 2 P 3/2 for 6 Li and 2 2 S 1/2 (F=2) to 2 2 P 1 2/(F=1) for 7 Li), 6 Li and 7 Li atoms in a beam were positively and negatively polarized respectively. The 6 Li enrichment was achieved via magnetic deflection of the polarized beam through a hexapole magnet which focuses the positively polarized 6 Li atoms and defocuses the negatively polarized 7 Li atoms. The dependence of 7 Li polarization on laser intensity was experimentally examined, and the result was in good agreement with that calculated by rate equations. The abundance ratio of 6 Li to 7 Li was enhanced from 1 : 12.5 to about 1 : 3.1.

DOI: 10.1088/0953-4075/25/15/012

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The authors have succeeded in demonstrating laser isotope enrichment via magnetic deflection of a polarized atomic beam. By using a single dye laser with the frequency tuned to the two accidentally close transitions of the natural lithium (2 2 S 1/2 (F=1/2) to 2 2 P 3/2 for 6 Li and 2 2 S 1/2 (F=2) to 2 2 P 1 2/(F=1) for 7 Li), 6 Li and 7 Li atoms in a beam were positively and negatively polarized respectively. The 6 Li enrichment was achieved via magnetic deflection of the polarized beam through a hexapole magnet which focuses the positively polarized 6 Li atoms and defocuses the negatively polarized 7 Li atoms. The dependence of 7 Li polarization on laser intensity was experimentally examined, and the result was in good agreement with that calculated by rate equations. The abundance ratio of 6 Li to 7 Li was enhanced from 1 : 12.5 to about 1 : 3.1.

We describe a novel method to enrich isotopes and isomers via magnetic deflection of optically polarized atomic beam. High electronic polarization with opposite signs for atoms of both isotopes respectively is achieved by selective optical pumping using lasers with different frequencies and polarizations and then the isotopes are enriched by deflecting the oppositely polarized isotopes along different directions by the inhomo-geneous magnetic field in the spin selective magnet. Separation selectivity and throughput are evaluated and the advantages, disadvantages and prospects of possible application of the present method are discussed in comparison with other existing methods. Experimental scheme with lithium or potassium is suggested.

Separation of Li isotopes by laser deflection of atomic beams has been carried out. An atomic beam apparatus with a collimating ratio of 450/1 generates are Li atomic beam of 10/sup 9/ atoms/cm/sup 3/ at the oven temperature of 600 /sup 0/C. The CW tunable dye laser crossing the atomic beam at a right angle has a linewidth of 6 MHz and its intensity as the I-cm interaction area is about 70 mW/cm/sup 2/. When the laser frequency is tuned to coincide with /sup 7/Li2/sup 2/P/sub 3/2/F = 3-2/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ F = 2 transition, /sup 7/Li atoms are deflected from the beam. The deflected atoms are very pure /sup 7/Li and almost do not contain /sup 8/Li. When the laser frequency coincides with any other transition of 2/sup 2/P-2/sup 5/S of both /sup 5/Li and /sup 7/Li, no apparent deflection is observed because of the optical pumping of the hyperfine levels of the 2/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ ground state.

The production of a polarized 7 Li atomic beam in a strong magnetic field was experimentally studied by laser optical pumping of a single ground hyperfine F level. It was shown that nearly complete negative and partial positive polarizations of 7 Li atoms could be realized under appropriate conditions by this pumping scheme, which was in agreement with the rate equation calculations. Based on the analyses of transition probabilities, the maximum polarizations for various transitions and light polarizations were given.

We deflected a well-collimated beam of krypton atoms in the metastable ls5 state by radiation pressure from a single-frequency dye laser. To produce the radiation pressure, we resonantly excited the krypton atoms, using the 1s5–2p9 transition. The natural width of this transition is much smaller than its isotope shift, which allowed us to deflect one isotope at a time. This created a new isotopically enriched atomic beam of Kr(1s5). We achieved a maximum enrichment factor of 1.2 × 104 at a deflection angle of 19 mrad. This enrichment is limited mainly by scattering of the parent atomic beam by residual gas. This degree of enrichment may make it possible to perform sensitive measurements of the concentrations of rare krypton isotopes in environmental samples.

We report the direct observation of

^{6}\mathrm{Li}^{+}

,

^{7}\mathrm{Li}^{+}

,

^{13}\mathrm{Li}_{2}^{+}

,

^{14}\mathrm{Li}_{2}^{+}

arising from single collisions between beams of lithium atoms in the presence of a laser field. Although the relative intensity of atomic ions reflects the natural isotopic abundance, a pronounced enrichment of

^{13}\mathrm{Li}_{2}^{+}

relative to

^{14}\mathrm{Li}_{2}^{+}

is observed.

The magnetic deflection of a europium atomic beam through a state-selective system consisting of a two-or six-pole magnet was investigated. Main interest was focused on realizing high selectivity and large transmittance solid angle of the state-selective system by properly choosing the parameters of the system. The results could be used in the experiments, such as non-alkali isotope enrichment by magne-tic deflection of a polarized atomic beam, in which a high selectivity and a large transmittance solid angle of the state-selective system are required.