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Journal of the Optical Society of America

Light Sources for the Excitation of Atomic Resonance Fluorescence in Potassium and Rubidium*

R. J. Atkinson, G. D. Chapman, L. Krause

Published Oct 1, 1965• 25 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A description is given of radio frequency light sources which produce potassium and rubidium resonance radiation of high intensity. The properties of the spectral lamps have been systematically investigated in relation to their operating parameters. The rf lamps emit resonance lines of much higher peak intensities, smaller halfwidths and smaller degrees of self-reversal than do commercially available lamps. Typical halfwidths of the resonance lines of potassium and rubidium produced by the rf sources were found to be 0.15 cm−1 and 0.37 cm−1, respectively, compared with the corresponding widths of 0.34 cm−1 and 1.5 cm−1, respectively, emitted by Osram spectral lamps operated at low currents.

DOI
10.1364/josa.55.001269

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Sixth Symposium on Novel Optoelectronic Detection Technology and Applications•Apr 17, 2020•0 citations
A description is given of radio frequency light sources which produce potassium and rubidium resonance radiation of high intensity. The properties of the spectral lamps have been systematically investigated in relation to their operating parameters. The rf lamps emit resonance lines of much higher peak intensities, smaller halfwidths and smaller degrees of self-reversal than do commercially available lamps. Typical halfwidths of the resonance lines of potassium and rubidium produced by the rf sources were found to be 0.15 cm−1 and 0.37 cm−1, respectively, compared with the corresponding widths of 0.34 cm−1 and 1.5 cm−1, respectively, emitted by Osram spectral lamps operated at low currents.
Ths p ro p e rtie s o f newly developed potassium and rubidium s p e c tr a l lamps have been s y ste m a tic a lly in v e s tig a te d in r e l a t i o n to t h e i r o p eratin g parameters* A comparison was made w ith two com m e rc ia lly a v a ila b le lamps* manufactured by Osram and Varian Asso c i a te s !w ith re sp e c t to in te g ra te d in te n s ity * peak in te n s ity * h a lf width* and degree of s e lf -r e v e r s a l of th e resonance l i n e s .I t was found th a t the rad io freq u en cy sources* developed in t h i s laboratory* emit potassium and rubidium resonance lin e s o f s ig n if i c a n tl y h ig h e r peak in t e n s i t i e s and sm aller h alf-w id th s th an th o se produced by th e o th e r lamps.The degree o f s e lf -r e v e r s a l in th e resonance lin e s was a ls o found to be very much more advantageous.T ypical h a lf-w id th s of th e resonance lin e s of potassium and rubidium produced by the r a d io f r e quency source were found to be 0 .1 5 cm.~^ and 0 .j57cm.~^ r e s p e c tiv e ly , compared to th e corresponding widths o f 0 .J 4 cm."* and 1 .5 cm.'* 1
The performance of tba ceaiua radiofrequancy lamps designed la this laboratory waa compared with that of commercially available Oaram lamps with respect to %bof l ,r ability to evffita resonance fluorescence, *fid the half-widthe and sel£~revarsal of tha emitted resonance H a a s , the shapes of tha resonance linaa wars studied by ******* of a yabry"*Per©t * *<■*** farojaata.f1which w a a built for thia purpose.' ' It waa found that tba radio* fraquancy sources aaittad raaoaaaea Xiaaa of greater peak intensities, smaller degrees of self-reversal, aad smaller half-widths them tba corresponding Xiaaa pro* d mead bv ehm Oar an Iibd. it waa ooaaibXa to resolve tba b.f.a.splitting of tba ground stata aad of tba resonance atata aad to resolve partially tba h.f.a, splitting of tba zP^atata.tba measured Intervals betwaaa tba various b.f.a.components wara la satisfactory AQ^dNUMiAti wjLtill fflraigli MdJffli nfsfsn.yBi'fedbtfftjLiitttt oT&tiH tt3Lwi4 M r where.ii R e p ro d u c e d w ith p erm is sio n o f th e co p yrig h t o w n e r.F u rth e r re p ro d u ctio n p ro hib ited w ith o u t p erm is sio n .X should -I11*** hO BXOreSS R V »ianr*fj 4a>» to Dr. &. Urease, under whose supervision this work was carried out, for his instruction and advice, aad especially.for M s patient criticise of this thesis la manuscript form* . 1 should also like to thaafc Or.M. Czajkowski for iatrod'taciaf me to the intricacies of the.proper utilization of the djMpii^y^i^atflilr e^^puHiati ^ X Wish to acknowledge the skilful craftsmanship of Master Qlasshlower Iff* Sherhart and Mr. Iff* draws.Superin tendent of the Machine Shop, for their indispensihle parts in th* et fact I .■ en ■ of various *wMyp*»eefi t. * of-the inter ferometer.
Since the 1960s, alkali-based RF discharge lamps have been used as frequency-stable light sources due to their reliable performance [1]. However, it is often reported that rubidium (Rb) lamp-based standards suffer from lamp-related frequency ageing phenomena such as light-shift effects [2], [3]. To understand this behaviour, we are characterising a commercial Rb-based RF discharge lamp over extended periods and will present an analysis of data collected so far. Electrical and optical measurements on a Rb lamp are presented here after about 40 days of monitoring. The output of the lamp was coupled into an optical fibre to observe its emitted light characteristics with an optical spectrum analyser. Optical spectra results indicated that the lamp had substantial buffer gas content. The lamp spectra exhibited various buffer gas excitation lines as well as strong Rb excitation lines of 780.0 nm (D2 line) and 794.8 nm (D1 line). Subsequently, the lamp was monitored for output optical power, temperature, and electric current dynamics in a laboratory environment. During monitoring, sudden changes in light output were observed along with longer term trends. From previous studies, we can expect that temporal changes in the light intensity of the lamps may lead to observable frequency fluctuations in an atomic clock [4].
We have developed a rubidium atomic-beam light source that emits Rb lines with a Doppler width of only 0.0015 cm−1. When the light from this source was measured with a scanning Fabry–Perot interferometer and the data were reduced by digital computer utilizing numerical deconvolution techniques, we were able to determine a hyperfine level splitting in natural rubidium as small as 0.0014 cm−1 with an uncertainty of 0.0001 cm−1. We have measured the relative intensities and positions of 19 of the 20 hfs components of the two resonance lines, 7800 and 7974 Å, of natural Rb. From these data, we calculate isotope shifts σ87−σ85 = 0.00268 cm−1 for 52P32 and σ87′−σ85′ = 0.00259 cm−1 for 52P12.
Rubidium spectral lamp is one of the critical parts in a rubidium atomic frequency standard (RAFS). The light emitted from the spectral lamp contains two components, one is the useful component, which contributes to the atomic transition signal, and the other is the useless component, which acts only as the light noise. In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the frequency locking loop of a RAFS, and therefore to obtain a highly stable RAFS, it's very important to enhance the useful light component and suppress the useless component. In the present work the light spectra of the three commonly used rubidium spectrum lamps with bulbs separately filled with buffer gases argon, krypton and xenon were obtained by means of a monochromator. The spectra were analyzed and the methods to enhance useful light intensity and reduce useless light intensity were discussed. Results showed that the useful light intensity strongly depends on the types of buffer gases and the bulb temperature. In the whole range of bulb temperature, the Xe lamp had the highest useful light intensity among the three lamps. The Kr lamp showed a higher useful light intensity than the Ar lamp at low bulb temperature, while at high bulb temperature the Ar lamp showed a higher useful light intensity than the Kr lamp. Analysis also indicates that the light noise of a rubidium spectrum lamp can be effectively minimized by adopting suitable light filtering technique.
Rubidium electrodeless lamp is one of the core components of rubidium atomic frequency standard. It plays the role of optical pumping and quantum state preparation, and realizes the particle number inversion between two ground states of rubidium atoms. The RF excitation frequency affects the effective light spectral distribution of rubidium electrodeless lamp, and then determines the pumping efficiency and the limiting frequency stability of rubidium atomic frequency standard. In this paper, the influence of RF excitation frequency on the spectral characteristics of rubidium electrodeless lamp can be optimized based on power compensation. It is found that there is a sensitive dependence between the heating rate and the excitation frequency of the rubidium electrodeless lamp, and the excitation frequency range corresponding to the turning point of the maximum heating rate was given experimentally. When the input power and the bubble wall temperature remain unchanged and the rubidium electrodeless lamp is in the ring-mode state, the spectral characteristics have a depression at the optimum resonance frequency. Therefore, the excitation frequency of the rubidium electrodeless lamp should be properly pulled to 5~9 MHz from the optimum resonant point, which can optimize the spectral characteristics of the rubidium electrodeless lamp and can improve the frequency stability of the rubidium atomic clock.