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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Revisiting optical spectroscopy in a thin vapor cell: mixing of reflection and transmission as a Fabry–Perot microcavity effect

G. Dutier, Solomon M. Saltiel, Daniel Bloch, M. Ducloy

Published May 1, 2003• 106 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Transmission spectroscopy in an ultrathin vapor cell, which has been recently demonstrated as a new method of sub-Doppler spectroscopy in the optical domain, is revisited. We show that, because of an unavoidable Fabry–Perot effect, the observed signal—in transmission spectroscopy and selective reflection spectroscopy as well—is actually an interferometric mixture of the optical responses as provided in transmission and in reflection by a long macroscopic cell. After the derivation of a very general solution, we restrict ourselves to the case of a linear interaction with the resonant laser. We finally discuss the application to a two-level atom for which analytical expressions are given, in the large Doppler limit, for FM transmission and reflection signals.

DOI
10.1364/josab.20.000793

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European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)•Jan 1, 2003•0 citations
Transmission spectroscopy in an ultrathin vapor cell, which has been recently demonstrated as a new method of sub-Doppler spectroscopy in the optical domain, is revisited. We show that, because of an unavoidable Fabry–Perot effect, the observed signal—in transmission spectroscopy and selective reflection spectroscopy as well—is actually an interferometric mixture of the optical responses as provided in transmission and in reflection by a long macroscopic cell. After the derivation of a very general solution, we restrict ourselves to the case of a linear interaction with the resonant laser. We finally discuss the application to a two-level atom for which analytical expressions are given, in the large Doppler limit, for FM transmission and reflection signals.
Single light beam transmission spectroscopy in an ultrathin dilute vapor cell (10--100 \ensuremath{\mu}m) reveals sub-Doppler features. Indeed, atoms with fast (normal) velocity undergo a short interaction between the cell walls, and are shown to be less absorbing because they have not reached their steady state of interaction with light. The effect is observed in the linear-response regime with a simple two-level system, as ensured from the ultralow level of light irradiation ($<~1\ensuremath{\mu}{\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ for the Cs D2{D}_{2}D2​ line). The effect, known for a long time in the microwave domain, is demonstrated here in the optical domain, and is extended to cell thicknesses large relative to the optical wavelength.
We report on the spectroscopy in a resonant vapor film, in a regime in which the inhomogeneous transit time induces a velocity selection. For cell thickness (10--1000 \ensuremath{\mu}m) smaller than the transverse dimensions and for low enough atomic density, the atomic trajectories are essentially free flights from wall to wall. Hence, a single laser beam irradiation is sufficient to observe sub-Doppler resonances because of the transient atomic response, which enhances the response of the slowest atoms flying nearly parallel to the wall. The peculiar features of this velocity selection are presented in the linear regime as well as in the case of saturation induced by the optical pumping. Also, we report, in the case of the Cs D2{D}_{2}D2​ line (852 nm), on the passage from a two-level linear-response regime to an optical pumping regime when increasing the incident intensity. We also describe the influence of several other parameters, including cell thickness and laser beam size and shape, on the experimental line shapes. An extension to Doppler-free polarization spectroscopy in a thin cell with a single beam, and to saturated absorption, is also reported.
We report on high-resolution single-light-beam transmission spectroscopy through an ultra thin vapor cell (thickness 10–100 μm). In addition to the expected Doppler-broadened absorption, a novel sub-Doppler structure is observed under normal incidence irradiation. This structure originates from the optical response of atoms with very small velocity components perpendicular to the cell walls, and is connected with the transient atom excitation regime during the wall-to-wall time of flight. In experiments performed in Cs vapor, the slow mechanism of optical pumping leads, for weak light intensities (10–100 μW/cm 2 ) and a 10 μm cell, to a velocity selection equivalent to an effective 1D temperature in the sub-mK range.
In this work we investigate the transmission in an optical cell containing an atomic vapor, when a laser is tuned to the wings of the Doppler line, presenting inhomogeneous broadening. The experiment is designed to detect the transmission of a laser beam through a an atomic cesium vapor within a quartz cell. Due to the high atomic density in the 1 mm cell, the laser beam is totally absorbed at resonance. On the other hand, when the detuning by few GHz from the center of the line an oscillatory signal is observed as a function of the laser frequency. The amplitude of the transmission signal varies linearly with the laser intensity. These oscillations exhibit diferent behavior as we change some parameters of the system, and the rate of the oscillations vary with laser detuning and on the atomic density. The phase of the transmited field is also sensitive to the angle of incidence of the laser beam in the cell, which allows to vary the lineshape of the signal without changing the parameters of the laser (intensity, frequency, ...) or atomic vapor. Out of resonance with the atomic vapor, the parallel windows of commercial optical cell cavity works as a low finesse Fabry-Pérot with a free spectral range of 150 GHz. However, in resonance, the optical path of the cavity changes varies with frequency due to the dispersive response of the atomic vapor. This study experimentally characterized the transmission signal through a cavity containing resonant vapor as a function of intensity and frequency of the laser, as well as its dependence on the angle of incidence of the beam. A numerical model that allows to determine the collisional broadening of the atomic vapor adjusting the spectral curves of the transmission signal was developed. As an application, exploring the oscillations in the wings of the resonance, we can lock the laser frequency at a few GHz off the center of the atomic resonance. The lock was performed in the frequency range between 0,8 GHz and 2,4 GHz from the center of the D2 line of cesium. To characterize the locking stability we measure the optical beat signal between two similar experiments, using the same locking technique.
The paper presents the prospects offered by this new tool, the extremely thin vapor cells (ETC), for laser spectroscopy and studies of the atom-surface interaction. Transmission in an ETC is presently a tool for the wings spectroscopy of the doublet Cs (6P/sub 3/2//spl rarr/6D), in an attempt to study, at a very short distance from the surface (/spl sim/5 nm), possible level crossing effects between the sapphire-repelled Cs(6D/sub 5/2/) and the sapphire-attracted Cs(6D/sub 5/2/).A general breakthrough promised by the spectroscopic study of atom-surface interaction in an ETC is the fact that it permits to study cavity-QED effects with a 2-wall cavity with atom dipole fluuctuations undergoing multipl reflections.