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Soviet Journal of Quantum Electronics

Quasi-cw lasing due to transitions from the resonance1P1to the metastable1D2level of the calcium atom

В. М. Батенин, Sergei V. Kalinin, И. И. Климовский

Published Oct 31, 1982• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A description is given of the method and the results are reported of an experiment in which quasi-cw lasing was obtained as a result of transitions from a resonance to a metastable level of the calcium atom without the use of any special impurities to quench the lower metastable state. Under these experimental conditions the metastable level was depopulated not as a result of collisions of the second kind or as a result of a chemical reaction, but because of the ionization, electron-impact excitation, and diffusion of metastable atoms to the discharge tube wall.

DOI
10.1070/qe1982v012n10abeh006056

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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Sep 28, 1990•18 citations
A description is given of the method and the results are reported of an experiment in which quasi-cw lasing was obtained as a result of transitions from a resonance to a metastable level of the calcium atom without the use of any special impurities to quench the lower metastable state. Under these experimental conditions the metastable level was depopulated not as a result of collisions of the second kind or as a result of a chemical reaction, but because of the ionization, electron-impact excitation, and diffusion of metastable atoms to the discharge tube wall.
The possibility of achieving cw lasing on self-terminating transitions of metal atoms is examined theoretically for the case in which the lower working level is one of a group of metastable levels which are effectively mixed in collisions with atoms and molecules of a buffer (quenching) gas. The presence of the group of metastable levels has two consequences. First, it substantially raises the efficiency of the depopulation of the lower working level by heavy particles. Second, it creates conditions such that electrons cause a relaxation of this group of levels to the ground state. As a result, the quenching-gas pressure required for cw lasing is reduced to ∼10 torr. The ranges of gas temperatures in which cw lasing can be achieved in this scheme are estimated. It is suggested that organometallic compounds be used as the active media in these lasers.
The method of doubled pulses was used to achieve pulsed lasing due to the 5 d 10 6 p 2 P 3/2 —5 d 9 6 s 2 2 D 5/2 transition in the mercury ion (λ = 398 nm), similar to efficient lasing transitions in copper and gold atoms. Discharge tubes with inner diameters 4 and 8 mm and 30 cm long were used. They were filled with neon or helium as the buffer gases. There was a significant difference between lasing in the narrow and wide tubes. In the wide tube it was possible to observe lasing only when the delay between the pulses was short; the beam was not ring-shaped, contrary to what was found earlier for the narrow tube. Lasing was observed even when the delay between the two pulses was less than 5 μs, but lasing disappeared when heating of the tube became stronger as the pulse repetition frequency was increased. Possible population and inversion mechanisms were analysed.
We report on an experimental study of surface ionization of metastable calcium atoms on a hot polycrystalline tungsten surface in vacuum. We implemented a hollow-cathode discharge to excite a fraction of calcium atoms in an atomic beam to metastable states and collected the resulting calcium ions. We observed that metastable calcium atoms are ionized with a significantly greater efficiency than ground-state atoms, and the results suggest that virtually every metastable atom impacting the hot surface is ionized. These results demonstrate the potential of metastable atom surface ionization as a means of enriching calcium isotopes for applications in medicine, metrology, and fundamental science.
The ionization of calcium atoms resonantly excited to the 4s4p 3 P 1 metastable state is investigated. In particular, the influence of various experimental parameters on the total ionization yield and the rate of its growth are reported. Maximum ionization yield was obtained with the buffer gas (Ar) pressure in the range 100-650 mbar. Furthermore, the time history of depopulation of the metastable state 4s4p 3 P 1 monitored in a 'pump' and 'probe' experiment using a second dye laser tuned to the 4s4p 3 P 1 -4s5s 3 S 1 transition is presented. The effective lifetime of the 4s4p 3 P 1 state is shortened to 31+or-2 mu s at 850 degrees C and 800 mbar Ar pressure from the known value of about 350 mu s.
Pulsed lasing from optically pumped rare gas metastable atoms (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) has been demonstrated previously. The laser relies on a three-level scheme, which involves the (n+1)p[5/2](3) and (n+1)p[1/2](1) states from the np(5)(n+1)p electronic configuration and the metastable (n+1)s[3/2](2) level of the np(5)(n+1)s configuration (Racah notation). Population inversions were achieved using relaxation from ((n+1)p[5/2](3) to (n+1)p[1/2](1) induced by collisions with helium or argon at pressures near 1 atm. Pulsed lasing was easily achieved using the high instantaneous pump intensities provided by a pulsed optical parametric oscillator excitation laser. In the present study we examine the potential for the development of a continuous wave (CW) optically pumped Ar laser. We report lasing of the 4p[1/2](1)→4s[3/2](2) (912.547 nm) transition following CW diode laser excitation of the 4p[5/2](3)←4s[3/2](2) line (811.754 nm). A pulsed discharge was used to generate Ar 4s[3/2](2), and the time-resolved lasing kinetics provide insights concerning the radiative and collisional relaxation processes.