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Journal of Modern Optics

Optical stabilization of Rb vapor density above thermal equilibrium

A. Burchianti, Andrea Bogi, C. Marinelli, E. Mariotti, L. Moi

Published Feb 10, 2010• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We stabilize the Rb vapor density above its thermal equilibrium value in sealed glass cells, which are generally used in atomic physics experiments. The method relies on light-induced desorption of Rb atoms from dielectric surfaces. The process does not demand high light intensities so that LEDs or laser diodes can be used as desorbing sources. The experiments are carried out in Pyrex cells either coated with a polydimethylsiloxane film or containing a porous glass sample. Under illumination both the organic coating and the porous sample release a large amount of Rb atoms into the cell volume. We show that the Rb vapor density can be maintained to a preset value, using a desorbing light intensity controlled by a feedback signal given by the Rb absorption or fluorescence level. Moreover, we find that the stabilization technique does not depend on the microscopic mechanisms underlying photodesorption.

DOI
10.1080/09500341003605429

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We stabilize the Rb vapor density above its thermal equilibrium value in sealed glass cells, which are generally used in atomic physics experiments. The method relies on light-induced desorption of Rb atoms from dielectric surfaces. The process does not demand high light intensities so that LEDs or laser diodes can be used as desorbing sources. The experiments are carried out in Pyrex cells either coated with a polydimethylsiloxane film or containing a porous glass sample. Under illumination both the organic coating and the porous sample release a large amount of Rb atoms into the cell volume. We show that the Rb vapor density can be maintained to a preset value, using a desorbing light intensity controlled by a feedback signal given by the Rb absorption or fluorescence level. Moreover, we find that the stabilization technique does not depend on the microscopic mechanisms underlying photodesorption.
We review some recent studies on light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD) from dielectric surfaces. Alkali-metal atoms adsorbed either on organic films or on porous glass are released into the vapor phase under illumination. The measurements were performed in Pyrex resonance cells either coated with siloxane films or containing a porous glass sample. In both cases, the experimental results show that LIAD can be used to produce atomic densities suitable for most atomic physics experiments. Moreover, we find that photoinduced effects, correlated with LIAD, produce reversible formation and evaporation of alkali-metal clusters in porous glass. These processes depend on the light frequency, making the porous glass transmittance controllable by light.
Huge light-induced rubidium atom desorption has been observed from porous silica samples placed inside Pyrex cells kept at room temperature. The desorption rate and the maximum vapour density change have been measured as a function of the desorbing light intensity. Their values are comparable with those recently obtained in Pyrex cells coated with organic films. A linear dependence of the desorption rate and a square-root dependence of the maximum density increase on light intensity indicate that diffusion inside the glass pores is a key mechanism. The application of this effect to develop light-controlled atomic dispensers compatible with high vacuum environment is discussed.
We present in this paper recent results on Light - Induced Atom Desorption (LIAD) in sealed and open coated cells. LIAD is defined via the description of an experiment on rubidium atoms stored in a dry - film coated cell, where a few milliwatts of even non coherent and non resonant light are able to increase the alkali atomic density for more than one order of magnitude. Modeling of the effect is given. New features become relevant in the case of LIAD in porous glasses: in fact, although the photodesorption efficiency per unit area in bare glass is much lower, photoatomic sources can be prepared, due to the huge inner surface of porous samples. We applied LIAD from organic coatings to the stabilization of alkali densities out of equilibrium: sodium case is here discussed. Finally, we report on fully original, preliminary measurements of rubidium Magneto - Optical Trap loading via LIAD from a dry - film coated cell.
We report some preliminary results on experimental investigation of the potential of Light Induced Atomic Desorption (LIAD) applications for density control in antirelaxation coated cells and coherent spectroscopy. LIAD is a non-thermal process whereby atoms adsorbed on a surface are released under illumination. It is applied mostly to implementing optical atomic dispensers in the cases when high atomic density at low temperature is needed - for example, for loading atomic devices as atomic magnetometers, atomic clocks, atomic traps and their miniaturization. An advantage of the light control is that it is faster than the temperature control. More than an order of increase of the density with LIAD is obtained. Some peculiarities in the 780 nm absorption and fluorescence spectra registered in dense Rb vapor are registered. The absorption and fluorescence spectra in Rb vapors controlled by temperature and LIAD are compared.
Atomic-vapor density change due to light induced atomic desorption (LIAD) is studied in paraffin-coated rubidium, cesium, sodium, and potassium cells. In the present experiment, low-intensity probe light is used to obtain an absorption spectrum and measure the vapor density, while light from an argon-ion laser, array of light emitting diodes, or discharge lamp is used for desorption. Potassium is found to exhibit significantly weaker LIAD from paraffin compared to Rb and Cs, and we were unable to observe LIAD with sodium. A simple LIAD model is applied to describe the observed vapor-density dynamics, and the role of the cell's stem is explored through the use of cells with lockable stems. Stabilization of Cs vapor density above its equilibrium value over 25min25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{min}25min is demonstrated. The results of this work could be used to assess the use of LIAD for vapor-density control in magnetometers, clocks, and gyroscopes utilizing coated cells.
We present the first experimental observation of atomic spin randomization of Rb atoms released by light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD). A natural mixture of Rb atoms contained in paraffin and PDMS coated glass cells is irradiated by a free-running diode laser light tuned to the Rb D 2 resonance line. The transmission spectrum of the Rb vapor is thus modified and shows a strong enhancement of the hyperfine optical pumping as the light intensity is increased and the laser-frequency scanning rate is decreased. The D 2 line spectra are compared for two cases: without and with illumination of the walls of the cell by a UV lamp centered around the wavelength of 404 nm. A simple theoretical model based on the solution of the rate balance equations is introduced in order to analyze the experimental results.