Reflection and transmission of light by thin vapor layers

V. A. Yurevich

Anahit L. Gogyan, Armen D. Sargsyan, David G. Sarkisyan

T. A. Vartanyan, D. L. Lin

A theory of selective reflection and transmission is developed for a system consisting of a thin layer of a dilute atomic vapor sandwiched between two transparent solids with parallel interfaces. Strong effects of spatial dispersion due to the atomic motion and electronic quenching on gas-solid interfaces are accounted for. It is shown that both even and odd Doppler-free resonances may occur in selective reflection, depending upon the thickness of the vapor layer. It is also found that the amplitude of selective reflection is a result of the interference between reflections from the two boundaries of the vapor-solid interfaces and, hence, may be greatly enhanced under certain conditions.

Gerard Nienhuis

Andrei Ermolaev, T. A. Vartanyan

Hot alkali metal vapors enclosed in submicron spectroscopic cells provide an ideal system for fundamental studies of the atom-wall and atom-light interactions at the nanoscale. Here, we propose an approach for calculating the eigenmodes of a thin vapor layer beyond the limitations of the first-order perturbation theory in optical density for the case of quenching of atomic polarization upon collisions of atoms with dielectric walls. We show that higher-order optical density corrections lead to a remarkable density-dependent blueshift and deformation of the spectral line shapes of reflection, transmission, and absorption. We also demonstrate that the eigenmodes of the thin vapor layer can be calculated independently of the choice of optical boundary conditions. This greatly extends the applicability of the constructed theory for the development of miniature atomic sensors.

Anonymous