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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Isotopically selective optical deflection of a krypton atomic beam

G. R. Janik, Bret D. Cannon, Rachel Ogorzalek Loo, Bruce A. Bushaw

Published Sep 1, 1989• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We deflected a well-collimated beam of krypton atoms in the metastable ls5 state by radiation pressure from a single-frequency dye laser. To produce the radiation pressure, we resonantly excited the krypton atoms, using the 1s5–2p9 transition. The natural width of this transition is much smaller than its isotope shift, which allowed us to deflect one isotope at a time. This created a new isotopically enriched atomic beam of Kr(1s5). We achieved a maximum enrichment factor of 1.2 × 104 at a deflection angle of 19 mrad. This enrichment is limited mainly by scattering of the parent atomic beam by residual gas. This degree of enrichment may make it possible to perform sensitive measurements of the concentrations of rare krypton isotopes in environmental samples.

DOI
10.1364/josab.6.001617

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Chin. Phys.; (United States)•Jan 1, 1983•0 citations
We deflected a well-collimated beam of krypton atoms in the metastable ls5 state by radiation pressure from a single-frequency dye laser. To produce the radiation pressure, we resonantly excited the krypton atoms, using the 1s5–2p9 transition. The natural width of this transition is much smaller than its isotope shift, which allowed us to deflect one isotope at a time. This created a new isotopically enriched atomic beam of Kr(1s5). We achieved a maximum enrichment factor of 1.2 × 104 at a deflection angle of 19 mrad. This enrichment is limited mainly by scattering of the parent atomic beam by residual gas. This degree of enrichment may make it possible to perform sensitive measurements of the concentrations of rare krypton isotopes in environmental samples.
We have devised a simple new scheme to increase the isotopic selectivity in optical rare-isotope detection experiments. We can effectively remove interfering isotopes from an atomic beam by optically pumping them into a state that is invisible to the optical detection system. The selectivity of this resonant depletion scales exponentially with the isotope shift and yields almost unlimited selectivity in principle. We have demonstrated a selectivity of 2.3 x 10(5) with a single laser excitation in a beam of metastable krypton atoms. With better laser stability we may be able to improve the selectivity much further.
We report the efficient transverse deflection of all atoms in a well-collimated sodium atomic beam by the spontaneous radiation pressure of a beam of resonance light which illuminates the atomic beam at right angles. Our results are obtained using two cw single-mode dye lasers to excite the two ground-state levels of sodium; this enables all atoms to interact with the light and it also eliminates optical pumping of the ground state. We obtained deflection angles greater than 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ rad which was ten times the divergence angle of the undeflected atomic beam; these deflections are due to the spontaneous scattering of more than 200 photons by each atom. The distribution of deflection angles is well described by a simple calculation. Fitting theory to experiment indicates that a fractional atomic excitation of 24 percent was obtained at an intensity of approximately 1 W/cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2. When single-frequency light was used, only a fraction of the atoms were deflected, and the deflection angles were much smaller due to optical pumping.
The authors have succeeded in demonstrating laser isotope enrichment via magnetic deflection of a polarized atomic beam. By using a single dye laser with the frequency tuned to the two accidentally close transitions of the natural lithium (2 2 S 1/2 (F=1/2) to 2 2 P 3/2 for 6 Li and 2 2 S 1/2 (F=2) to 2 2 P 1 2/(F=1) for 7 Li), 6 Li and 7 Li atoms in a beam were positively and negatively polarized respectively. The 6 Li enrichment was achieved via magnetic deflection of the polarized beam through a hexapole magnet which focuses the positively polarized 6 Li atoms and defocuses the negatively polarized 7 Li atoms. The dependence of 7 Li polarization on laser intensity was experimentally examined, and the result was in good agreement with that calculated by rate equations. The abundance ratio of 6 Li to 7 Li was enhanced from 1 : 12.5 to about 1 : 3.1.
Separation of Li isotopes by laser deflection of atomic beams has been carried out. An atomic beam apparatus with a collimating ratio of 450/1 generates are Li atomic beam of 10/sup 9/ atoms/cm/sup 3/ at the oven temperature of 600 /sup 0/C. The CW tunable dye laser crossing the atomic beam at a right angle has a linewidth of 6 MHz and its intensity as the I-cm interaction area is about 70 mW/cm/sup 2/. When the laser frequency is tuned to coincide with /sup 7/Li2/sup 2/P/sub 3/2/F = 3-2/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ F = 2 transition, /sup 7/Li atoms are deflected from the beam. The deflected atoms are very pure /sup 7/Li and almost do not contain /sup 8/Li. When the laser frequency coincides with any other transition of 2/sup 2/P-2/sup 5/S of both /sup 5/Li and /sup 7/Li, no apparent deflection is observed because of the optical pumping of the hyperfine levels of the 2/sup 2/S/sub 1/2/ ground state.