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Physical Review A

Interaction of spin-polarized atoms with a surface studied by optical-reflection spectroscopy

S. Grafström, Dieter Suter

Published Sep 1, 1996• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.54.2169

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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.
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.
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.
We present a method for measuring surface interaction parameters of spin-polarized Rb atoms on coated Pyrex glass surfaces based on edge enhancement in optically pumped Rb vapor. The best fit to the measured magnetic resonance lines using a theoretical model yields a dwell time ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{s}=1.8\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ and a spin relaxation probability ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}=0.015$ for a spin-polarized Rb atom on a Pyrex glass surface coated with dichlorooctamethyl-tetrasiloxane (Surfasil), and ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{s}=0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ and ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}=0.001$ on a surface coated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS).
Methods commonly used in surface science have difficulties in studying surface interaction between spin polarized atoms and anti-relaxation coatings in sealed atomic vapour cells. The average dwell time of atom-wall collisions can provide important information for understanding the atom surface interaction. Here we present a simple method for directly measuring the average dwell time of spin polarized rubidium atoms on coated glass surfaces. The method relies on evanescent-wave induced light shift of the Zeeman resonance of Rb atomic spins, and does not depend on the microscopic details of surface interactions. This is the only reliable method currently available for measuring surface dwell time of spin polarized atoms sealed in vapor cells.
The polarizations of sodium atoms optically pumped by a single-mode cw ring dye laser were measured as a function of the pumping power, sodium-vapor thickness, and external magnetic field for Pyrex glass and copper walls with and without dry-film coating. Observed quantities were analyzed by a simple optical pumping model in which the effect of the radiation trapping was taken into account. Assuming that the depolarization of the sodium atom was mainly induced by the local magnetic field at the sodium atom during its adsorption on the wall surface, the calculations could successfully reproduce the observed polarizations.
We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of edge enhancement in optically pumped Rb vapor in coated cylindrical pyrex glass cells. The Zeeman polarization of Rb atoms is produced and probed in the vicinity ( ~ ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ cm) of the cell surface by evanescent pump and probe beams. Spin-polarized Rb atoms diffuse throughout the cell in the presence of magnetic field gradients. In the present experiment the edge enhanced signal from the back surface of the cell is suppressed compared to that from the front surface, due to the fact that polarization is probed by the evanescent wave at the front surface only. The observed magnetic resonance line shape is reproduced quantitatively by a theoretical model and yields information about the dwell time and relaxation probability of Rb atoms on Pyrex glass surfaces coated with antirelaxation coatings.