Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Letters

Near-field time-of-flight spectroscopy of sodium atoms desorbing from surface-bound clusters

Rolf Gerlach, Joseph R. Manson, Horst‐Günter Rubahn

Published Aug 1, 1996• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Delayed photodesorption of Na atoms from large, surface-bound Na clusters is investigated with a novel technique that includes pulsed plasmon excitation and continuous Doppler-free two-photon evanescent wave detection of desorbing atoms. The spatial confinement of the laser beams within the evanescent wave, the Doppler-free nature of the detection mode, and an accurate evaluation of the kinetic energy of the desorbing atoms in terms of a multiphonon time-of-flight distribution allows temporal information on the decay mechanisms within the cluster to be obtained.

DOI
10.1364/ol.21.001183

Related papers

Two-photon evanescent-wave spectroscopy of alkali-metal atoms

Vladimir G Bordo, Horst‐Günter Rubahn

The two-photon spectrum of sodium atoms, excited by two counterpropagating evanescent waves, is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Sub-Doppler linewidths are observed, which are quantitatively reproduced by a rigorous theoretical approach that takes into account optical pumping and transit time broadening due to the translational motion of the arriving and departing atoms through the evanescent-wave fields. The velocity distribution of the atoms desorbing from the surface is found to obey a cosine law, which has a significant influence on the observed line shapes.

Physical Review A•Aug 1, 1999•19 citations

Multiphoton evanescent wave spectroscopy and dynamics

Vladimir G Bordo, Horst‐Guenter Rubahn

Non-intrusive laser-spectroscopical methods for the diagnostics of the gas-surface interaction in the near-field of a dielectric surface have been developed both experimentally and theoretically. The techniques base on either two-photon evanescent wave excitation or combined evanescent-volume wave excitation. Spectra obtained for sodium atoms at a glass-vacuum interface are quantitatively reproduced by a rigorous theoretical approach. In the case of pure evanescent wave excitation the excitation conditions can be chosen such that either the velocity distribution of desorbing atoms is determined or that atom-surface interaction parameters (polarizability of the adsorbed atoms, desorption rate, sticking coefficient) are obtained from the Autler- Townes splitting of the two-photon lines. By the use of combined evanescent-volume wave excitation one is able to distinguish optically between different groups of atoms interacting with the surface and one can extract their two- dimensional velocity distributions. In addition, information is obtained about superelastic scattering of the atoms interacting with the dielectric substrate.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Dec 5, 2001•0 citations

A New Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy Technique for Studying Adsorption/Desorption Processes at Surfaces

Vladimir G Bordo, Horst‐Günter Rubahn

We present a new spectroscopic technique which utilizes evanescent waves at a gas/glass prism interface for studying adsorption/desorption processes. We have measured the Autler-Townes splitting in the two-evanescent wave fluorescence spectrum of Na atoms in the gas phase as a function of the temperature of a prism surface. A quantitative comparison of measured with calculated spectra has provided values of the adsorption energy, pre-exponential factor for the rate of desorption and linear polarizability of adsorbed Na atoms. A possible extension of this technique to the case of surface plasmon excitation at a metal surface is also exploited.

physica status solidi (a)•Sep 1, 1999•0 citations

Time-Resolved Measurements of the Adsorption/Desorption of Rb Atoms on Octadecyltrichlorosilane Coated Surfaces

Kang-Jia Liao, Meiling Wang, Guiying Zhang +1 more

We carry out the first time-resolved measurement of Rb atoms desorbing from octadecyltrichlorosilane coated surfaces by polarizing the atoms near the surface using an evanescent wave pump pulse and watching the subsequent intensity change of another evanescent wave probe beam, and find the mean adsorption (dwell) time to be about 400 ns at a cell body temperature of 112°C. The adsorption energy is found to be 0.19 eV from the surface temperature dependence of the adsorption time. This method can be extended to study the adsorption/desorption process of other alkali atoms on other surfaces of transparent substrates with an ultimate time resolution limited by the flight time of atoms in the evanescent wave which is of the order of nanoseconds.

Chinese Physics Letters•Jul 1, 2015•7 citations

Detection of cold metastable atoms at a surface

Dominik Schneble, Masahiro Hasuo, T. Anker +2 more

A scheme for the detection of cold metastable atoms at surfaces with spatial and temporal resolution is studied experimentally, using methods of laser cooling and atom optics. Electron emission yields for deexcitation of the metastable states 1s5(J=2) and 1s3(J=0) of argon at a gold surface are compared with a technique that is based on optical pumping and the use of an evanescent-wave atom mirror as an internal-state filter, and are found to agree to within an uncertainty of 10%. The application of the detection scheme to time-of-flight spectroscopy of cold atom clouds is demonstrated. The detector has a field of view of 3 mm diameter, a spatial resolution of order 100 μm, and a time resolution of 20 μs, and the single-atom detection efficiency near the center of the field of view is 14% in the linear counting regime of up to 106 atoms/s.

Review of Scientific Instruments•May 1, 2003•5 citations

Nonlinear Doppler-free spectroscopy of atoms near a surface

Pierre Simoneau, S. Le Boiteux, C. De Araujo +2 more

Up to now, Doppler-free nonlinear spectroscopy has been applied to atoms inside a gas medium (volume spectroscopy). We have extended these methods to atoms in the vicinity of a surface. The basic principle consists of monitoring reflectivity changes produced when a laser beam, incident on a glass–vapor interface, is brought into resonance with an atomic transition. For Doppler-free spectroscopy, two counterpropagating beams are used to operate velocity selection. If these two beams are under normal incidence in the glass—velocity selection perpendicular to the surface—one observes saturated dispersion (selective reflection sensitive to the real index). For incidence angles in the glass (prism) larger than the critical angle (total internal reflection), a standing evanescent wave is produced in the gas (velocity selection along the surface), and saturated absorption is detected. Experimental demonstration was performed on the Na resonance line; high sensitivity (10−4 relative reflectivity change) and spectral resolution as good as 20 MHz were obtained. The main limitation to better resolution comes from the short atomic transit time in the evanescent wave (typical extension ~λ). Relevant applications of these techniques should also concern the diagnostics of optically thick media, as analysis of interaction between gas-phase atoms and the surface, notably atom–wall collisions, and modification of the spontaneous emission characteristics.

International Laser Science Conference•Jan 1, 1986•0 citations
Delayed photodesorption of Na atoms from large, surface-bound Na clusters is investigated with a novel technique that includes pulsed plasmon excitation and continuous Doppler-free two-photon evanescent wave detection of desorbing atoms. The spatial confinement of the laser beams within the evanescent wave, the Doppler-free nature of the detection mode, and an accurate evaluation of the kinetic energy of the desorbing atoms in terms of a multiphonon time-of-flight distribution allows temporal information on the decay mechanisms within the cluster to be obtained.
The two-photon spectrum of sodium atoms, excited by two counterpropagating evanescent waves, is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Sub-Doppler linewidths are observed, which are quantitatively reproduced by a rigorous theoretical approach that takes into account optical pumping and transit time broadening due to the translational motion of the arriving and departing atoms through the evanescent-wave fields. The velocity distribution of the atoms desorbing from the surface is found to obey a cosine law, which has a significant influence on the observed line shapes.
Non-intrusive laser-spectroscopical methods for the diagnostics of the gas-surface interaction in the near-field of a dielectric surface have been developed both experimentally and theoretically. The techniques base on either two-photon evanescent wave excitation or combined evanescent-volume wave excitation. Spectra obtained for sodium atoms at a glass-vacuum interface are quantitatively reproduced by a rigorous theoretical approach. In the case of pure evanescent wave excitation the excitation conditions can be chosen such that either the velocity distribution of desorbing atoms is determined or that atom-surface interaction parameters (polarizability of the adsorbed atoms, desorption rate, sticking coefficient) are obtained from the Autler- Townes splitting of the two-photon lines. By the use of combined evanescent-volume wave excitation one is able to distinguish optically between different groups of atoms interacting with the surface and one can extract their two- dimensional velocity distributions. In addition, information is obtained about superelastic scattering of the atoms interacting with the dielectric substrate.
We present a new spectroscopic technique which utilizes evanescent waves at a gas/glass prism interface for studying adsorption/desorption processes. We have measured the Autler-Townes splitting in the two-evanescent wave fluorescence spectrum of Na atoms in the gas phase as a function of the temperature of a prism surface. A quantitative comparison of measured with calculated spectra has provided values of the adsorption energy, pre-exponential factor for the rate of desorption and linear polarizability of adsorbed Na atoms. A possible extension of this technique to the case of surface plasmon excitation at a metal surface is also exploited.
We carry out the first time-resolved measurement of Rb atoms desorbing from octadecyltrichlorosilane coated surfaces by polarizing the atoms near the surface using an evanescent wave pump pulse and watching the subsequent intensity change of another evanescent wave probe beam, and find the mean adsorption (dwell) time to be about 400 ns at a cell body temperature of 112°C. The adsorption energy is found to be 0.19 eV from the surface temperature dependence of the adsorption time. This method can be extended to study the adsorption/desorption process of other alkali atoms on other surfaces of transparent substrates with an ultimate time resolution limited by the flight time of atoms in the evanescent wave which is of the order of nanoseconds.
A scheme for the detection of cold metastable atoms at surfaces with spatial and temporal resolution is studied experimentally, using methods of laser cooling and atom optics. Electron emission yields for deexcitation of the metastable states 1s5(J=2) and 1s3(J=0) of argon at a gold surface are compared with a technique that is based on optical pumping and the use of an evanescent-wave atom mirror as an internal-state filter, and are found to agree to within an uncertainty of 10%. The application of the detection scheme to time-of-flight spectroscopy of cold atom clouds is demonstrated. The detector has a field of view of 3 mm diameter, a spatial resolution of order 100 μm, and a time resolution of 20 μs, and the single-atom detection efficiency near the center of the field of view is 14% in the linear counting regime of up to 106 atoms/s.
Up to now, Doppler-free nonlinear spectroscopy has been applied to atoms inside a gas medium (volume spectroscopy). We have extended these methods to atoms in the vicinity of a surface. The basic principle consists of monitoring reflectivity changes produced when a laser beam, incident on a glass–vapor interface, is brought into resonance with an atomic transition. For Doppler-free spectroscopy, two counterpropagating beams are used to operate velocity selection. If these two beams are under normal incidence in the glass—velocity selection perpendicular to the surface—one observes saturated dispersion (selective reflection sensitive to the real index). For incidence angles in the glass (prism) larger than the critical angle (total internal reflection), a standing evanescent wave is produced in the gas (velocity selection along the surface), and saturated absorption is detected. Experimental demonstration was performed on the Na resonance line; high sensitivity (10−4 relative reflectivity change) and spectral resolution as good as 20 MHz were obtained. The main limitation to better resolution comes from the short atomic transit time in the evanescent wave (typical extension ~λ). Relevant applications of these techniques should also concern the diagnostics of optically thick media, as analysis of interaction between gas-phase atoms and the surface, notably atom–wall collisions, and modification of the spontaneous emission characteristics.