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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Reflection spectroscopy of spin-polarized atoms near a dielectric surface

S. Grafström, Tilo Blasberg, Dieter Suter

Published Jan 1, 1996• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We compare the interactions of spin-polarized Na with glass surfaces that are either bare or silicone coated. For this purpose, we reflect a laser beam that is resonant with the Na atoms from the interface, using an angle of incidence close to the critical angle of total internal reflection. Polarization-selective detection of the reflected light provides information about the ground-state orientation of the atoms, which is created by optical pumping with a second laser beam. Our theoretical description treats the atomic vapor as a homogeneous anisotropic medium characterized by a macroscopic magnetization. Comparative experimental studies performed with silicone-coated and bare glass surfaces provide evidence that wall relaxation can be observed by reflection spectroscopy.

DOI
10.1364/josab.13.000003

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We present an experiment for the investigation of the interaction of spin-polarized Na atoms with a dielectric surface. A laser beam, which is resonant with an atomic transition, probes the spin polarization near the surface. It is reflected at the surface and the change of its polarization is measured. Our analysis takes into account that the spin polarization is reduced near the surface because of surface-induced spin relaxation. The theory shows that strong wall relaxation leads to a clear modification of the shape and strength of the optical line. The dependence of the line shape on the angle of incidence immediately below the critical angle of total internal reflection provides a sensitive tool for the quantitative determination of the depolarization probability \ensuremath{\varepsilon} per wall collision. Measurements performed at a Pyrex glass surface provide a clear experimental confirmation of the theory and yield a value of \ensuremath{\varepsilon}\ensuremath{\approxeq}0.5. The case of weak wall relaxation is exemplified by experimental results from a silicone-coated glass surface, which are equally well reproduced by the theory. The method offers the prospect of using surface-induced spin relaxation for the study of surface properties and atom-surface interactions for various surfaces. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

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Nonlinear effects in laser excitation of atomic gases in the vicinity of solid surfaces

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Understanding the processes underlying the optical excitation of atomic vapor in the vicinity of solid surfaces is of interest both from physical and technical points of view. Selective reflection spectra of laser light from an interface of a transparent dielectric material and resonant vapor are known to be Doppler-free and to provide important spectroscopic information about the atom-wall interaction. On the other hand, atomic vapors have such a large and fast nonlinear response on or near resonances that they are capable of processing signals and images with milliwatt lasers at a time scale of submicroseconds. In the present paper we investigate linear and nonlinear optical properties of a thin film of atomic vapor confined between two solid surfaces. Assuming two-level atoms, we solve the Maxwell- Bloch equations for light reflection from resonant atoms. The interaction between the resonant atoms and the wall is accounted for through the boundary conditions for all elements of density matrix. The transient polarization is shown to make an important contribution not only to the field structure in the vicinity of the wall but also to the interference pattern of the reflected field. It is found that the spectrum of reflection depends remarkably on the film thickness. Strong enhancement of signal is also found from this study and possible devices for the detection are discussed.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Apr 4, 1997•0 citations
We compare the interactions of spin-polarized Na with glass surfaces that are either bare or silicone coated. For this purpose, we reflect a laser beam that is resonant with the Na atoms from the interface, using an angle of incidence close to the critical angle of total internal reflection. Polarization-selective detection of the reflected light provides information about the ground-state orientation of the atoms, which is created by optical pumping with a second laser beam. Our theoretical description treats the atomic vapor as a homogeneous anisotropic medium characterized by a macroscopic magnetization. Comparative experimental studies performed with silicone-coated and bare glass surfaces provide evidence that wall relaxation can be observed by reflection spectroscopy.
We present an experiment for the investigation of the interaction of spin-polarized Na atoms with a dielectric surface. A laser beam, which is resonant with an atomic transition, probes the spin polarization near the surface. It is reflected at the surface and the change of its polarization is measured. Our analysis takes into account that the spin polarization is reduced near the surface because of surface-induced spin relaxation. The theory shows that strong wall relaxation leads to a clear modification of the shape and strength of the optical line. The dependence of the line shape on the angle of incidence immediately below the critical angle of total internal reflection provides a sensitive tool for the quantitative determination of the depolarization probability \ensuremath{\varepsilon} per wall collision. Measurements performed at a Pyrex glass surface provide a clear experimental confirmation of the theory and yield a value of \ensuremath{\varepsilon}\ensuremath{\approxeq}0.5. The case of weak wall relaxation is exemplified by experimental results from a silicone-coated glass surface, which are equally well reproduced by the theory. The method offers the prospect of using surface-induced spin relaxation for the study of surface properties and atom-surface interactions for various surfaces. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The interaction of spin polarized cesium atoms on coated surfaces is examined. Coated surfaces find extensive applications in atomic devices-hydrogen masers and advanced rubidium frequency standards utilize wall coatings to obtain very narrow hyperfine resonances. A Cs atomic beam is hyperfine or spin polarized by optical pumping techniques using a single mode AlGaAs diode laser. The ground state distribution is probed before and after scattering from coated surfaces using laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy. The coatings under investigations are paraffin and organosilanes and these are known to be very weakly relaxing surfaces for polarized alkali atoms. The spin relaxation properties of paraffin and organosilane coatings have been studied in glass cell-vapor environment. In our experiments using polarized atomic beams, our goal is to examine in detail the hyperfine and spin relaxation properties of these coatings in a carefully controlled environment which is not possible in the gas cell environment. We measure the spin relaxation probability per wall collision as a function of temperature of the surface. Results of our studies will be presented.
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.
A new optical pumping scheme utilizing selective reflection is proposed and studied for the first time. This method enables us to observe the spin-polarization of atoms even at the high density, at which the pumping beam cannot be transmitted through a sample cell. Theoretical analysis shows that the light reflectivity at the glass-vapor interface is strongly dependent on the direction of the macroscopic magnetic moment of optical pumped atoms. Two types of demonstrating experiments are carried out with Cs and Rb vapors at the temperature ∼ 200°C. In the transverse pumping experiment with a modulated laser beam, asymmetry of the magnetic resonance signal with respect to the inversion of the magnetic field direction is observed as predicted by the theory. In the longitudinal pumping experiment, the transfer of a large amount of the magnetic moment by spin-exchange collisions is directly observed.
We discuss the properties of selective reflection spectroscopy at the interface between a resonant vapor and a complex dense medium, such as a metallic film layered on a dielectric substrate. We show that in the approximation of a low-density vapor, the signal mixes up the absorptive and dispersive components of the "effective resonant susceptibility" of the vapor, with the mixture amount governed by simple laws of linear optics. Preliminary experiments performed at the interface between Cs vapor (D2, 852-nm line) and a silver-coated glass window are reported, that show qualitatively the effect of the atom-surface van der Waals interaction.
Understanding the processes underlying the optical excitation of atomic vapor in the vicinity of solid surfaces is of interest both from physical and technical points of view. Selective reflection spectra of laser light from an interface of a transparent dielectric material and resonant vapor are known to be Doppler-free and to provide important spectroscopic information about the atom-wall interaction. On the other hand, atomic vapors have such a large and fast nonlinear response on or near resonances that they are capable of processing signals and images with milliwatt lasers at a time scale of submicroseconds. In the present paper we investigate linear and nonlinear optical properties of a thin film of atomic vapor confined between two solid surfaces. Assuming two-level atoms, we solve the Maxwell- Bloch equations for light reflection from resonant atoms. The interaction between the resonant atoms and the wall is accounted for through the boundary conditions for all elements of density matrix. The transient polarization is shown to make an important contribution not only to the field structure in the vicinity of the wall but also to the interference pattern of the reflected field. It is found that the spectrum of reflection depends remarkably on the film thickness. Strong enhancement of signal is also found from this study and possible devices for the detection are discussed.