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Japanese Journal of Applied Physics

Doppler-Free Saturated Selective Reflection with Copropagating Pump-Probe Method

Takahisa Mitsui Takahisa Mitsui, Hidetoshi Numata, Katsumi Sakurai

Published Jul 1, 1996• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Doppler-free spectroscopy of high density atomic vapor has been demonstrated using copropagating pump-probe selective reflection. The observed narrow resonance has been interpreted theoretically taking account of the saturation of the atomic vapor. Our theory predicts that the saturation effect due to optical pumping is not uniform over the Doppler-broadened transition and is prominent at zero velocity.

DOI
10.1143/jjap.35.4083

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Doppler-free spectroscopy of high density atomic vapor has been demonstrated using copropagating pump-probe selective reflection. The observed narrow resonance has been interpreted theoretically taking account of the saturation of the atomic vapor. Our theory predicts that the saturation effect due to optical pumping is not uniform over the Doppler-broadened transition and is prominent at zero velocity.
The observation of a new type of saturation effects in degenerate four-wave mixing in Na vapor is reported. The experimental configuration is neither counterpropagating nor velocity selective, and yet sub-Doppler high-resolution lines are observed at the atomic-transition frequencies, and at the weighted center of a Doppler-broadened distribution. These new features are the result of an interplay between absorption and saturation, and the inhomogeneous broadening is essential for their existence.
Nonlinear selective reflection from the interface YAG window-high density rubidium vapor in the high-temperature cell is studied at the transition 5S1/2_{1/2}1/2​-5P3/2_{3/2}3/2​. In the experiment tunable pump and probe lasers are used. The selective reflection spectra for the laser probe beam are investigated at four different rubidium atomic densities and five different pump beam intensities. The estimated dipole-dipole interaction-induced line broadening varies from 13.213.213.2 to 39.639.639.6 GHz, the measured pumped intensities change from 1.21.21.2 to 8.88.88.8 kW⋅\cdot⋅cm−2^{-2}−2. Growth of the pump intensity causes reduction of the magnitude and the width of the recorded selective reflection resonance. We suggest developing all-optical modulators on the basis of nonlinear selective reflection.
A nonlinear selective reflection from the boundary between a transparent dielectric and dense Rb vapor has been investigated, where the dipole broadening of the 5 S 1/2 –5 P 3/2 working transition is significantly larger than the contribution of the Doppler width. A tunable probe laser and a pump laser with a fixed frequency have been used in the experiment. At a high intensity of pump radiation, a dip has appeared in the reflection spectrum, which splits the spectrum into two symmetric resonances. The splitting value is twice the Rabi frequency. The observation of a narrow structure corresponding to the dressed atomic states opens up additional possibilities for the study of many-particle interactions.
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We demonstrate a new technique for saturated-absorption spectroscopy by use of copropagating beams that does not have the problem of crossover resonances. The pump beam is locked to a transition, and its absorption signal is monitored while the probe beam is scanned. As the probe comes into resonance with another transition, the pump absorption is reduced and the signal shows a Doppler-free dip. We use this technique to measure hyperfine intervals in the D2 line of 85Rb with a precision of 70 kHz and to resolve hyperfine levels in the D2 line of 39K that are less than 10 MHz apart.