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Review of Scientific Instruments

Simple system for producing an atomic beam of alkaline earth metastables

Stephen M. Heider, Gilbert O. Brink

Published Apr 1, 1975• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A simple system is described which produces an intense atomic beam of alkaline earth atoms in metastable states. This system, which used an arc discharge in the effusion orifice of the atomic beam oven, has been used in hyperfine structure investigations of these states, as well as in the study of their scattering properties.
DOI
10.1063/1.1134211

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Abstract An intense source of cold hydrogen atoms in a supersonic beam is presented. H and D atoms are produced from pure samples of H2 and D2 using a barrier discharge near the orifice of a cryogenic pulsed valve. The atoms are entrained in the supersonic expansion of the precursor molecules and cool down to translational temperatures as low as ∼ 15 mK. The H-atom density at a distance of 1.2 m from the valve orifice is estimated to be around 108 cm−3. The mean velocity of the supersonic beam containing the H (D) atoms can be adjusted between 2600 and 1200 m s−1 (between 1850 and 820 m s−1). The barrier discharge also produces H n + and D n + ions with n ranging from 2 to 8, which can be deflected off the beam by electric fields. The use of this H-atom source in spectroscopic measurements is demonstrated by an investigation of the Stark effect in the 1s–2s two-photon transition of H and D. A near-Fourier-transform-limited pulsed laser generating pulses of UV radiation of adjustable pulse length between 10 and 200 ns near 243 nm is used to record spectra with full resolution of the hyperfine structure in the s states, providing a textbook example of the Stark effect in the simplest set of near-degenerate states of one-electron atoms.