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Frontiers in Optics

Efficient Lasing on Alkali Atomic D2 Lines Utilizing Spin-Polarized Alkali Vapor

Andrey E. Mironov, Austin W. Steinforth, José A. Rivera, James Gary Eden

Published Jan 1, 2017• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report a novel method for significantly improving the efficiency of alkali atomic lasers. By pumping alkali-rare gas atomic pairs with a circularly polarized optical field, an increase in the efficiency of >50% has been demonstrated.
DOI
10.1364/fio.2017.jtu3a.105

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Anisotropic coherent radiation has been generated from an isotropic medium, in the absence of an external magnetic field, by the spin polarization of an atomic excited state. Lasing on specific hyperfine lines of the 6p2P32→6s2S12 (D2) transition of Cs at 852.1 nm has been realized by photoexciting Cs-rare gas thermal collision pairs with a circularly-polarized (σ+) optical field. Subsequent dissociation of the transient Cs-rare gas B2Σ12+ diatomic molecule selectively populates theF= 4, 5 hyperfine levels of the Cs 6p2P32 state. Not only does electronic spin polarization of the upper laser level yield circularly-polarized coherent emission, but the effective degeneracy (g2) of the 6p2P32 state is altered by the non-statistical hyperfine state population distribution, thereby permitting control of the laser small signal gain with an elliptically-polarized pump optical field. TheD2laser efficiency and output power correlate directly with the molecular orbital structure of the Cs-rare gasB2Σ+state in the region of internuclear separation at which the diatomic complex is born.
Recently the demand for hyperpolarized noble gases is arising to improve NMR spectroscopy resolution for imaging. Hyperpolarization of noble gases is achieved by spin- exchange with alkali metal. atoms that undergo optical pumping by circularly polarized radiation. Optical pumping is usually achieved by high power semiconductor lasers. These sources have a bandwidth very large when compared with the transition bandwidth of the optically active species. This has two serious consequences: (i) the request of high power lasers, (ii) the losses that the unemployed energy delivered to the Rb vapor can provide in the efficiency of the energy transfer. Object of our investigation will be the comparison of two experimental set ups for optical pumping of Rb vapor where pumping is given in one case by a dye laser pumped by a UV nitrogen laser built in our laboratory according to the Blumlein scheme and in the other case by a semiconductor laser. Major elements that will be discussed are (1) the role of stimulated emission of Rb vapor to increase the pumping efficiency, (2) the fate of resonant photons that are emitted during Rb decays, (3) the role of applied magnetic fields in the efficiency of pumping processes.
Optically pumped alkali vapor lasers are currently being developed in several laboratories. The objective is to construct high-powered lasers that also exhibit excellent beam quality. Considerable progress has been made, but there are technical challenges associated with the reactivity of the metal atoms. Rare gas atoms (Rg) excited to the np(5)(n+1)s (3)P(2) configuration are metastable and have spectral properties that are closely similar to those of the alkali metals. In principle, optically pumped lasers could be constructed using excitation of the np(5)(n+1)p←np(5)(n+1)s transitions. We have demonstrated this potential by observing gain and lasing for optically pumped Ar(*), Kr(*) and Xe(*). Three-level lasing schemes were used, with He or Ar as the collisional energy transfer agent that established the population inversion. These laser systems have the advantage of using inert reagents that are gases at room temperature.
A new method has been designed for obtaining the hyperfine optical pumping of Na vapor. The pumping lamp is placed in a magnetic field and the light emitted in the field direction is used for excitation after crossing a circular polarizer selecting one of the Zeeman lines. This method has two interesting features: (i) The atoms can be pumped either in the lower or in the upper hyperfine sublevel by simply rotating a polarizer by an angle of $\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{\pi}$; (ii) the hyperfine pumping is obtained using both the D1{D}_{1}D1​ and D2{D}_{2}D2​ resonance lines without filtering losses. The pumping efficiency is good and it has been possible to measure the spin-exchange cross section between sodium atoms by studying the hyperfine relaxation rates as a function of the sodium density. The result is ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{ex}}=(1.109\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2.
Photoassociation of alkali-rare gas atomic collision pairs provides an alternative approach to optically pumping atomic alkali lasers. Lasing on the 6 P21/2→6 S21/2 (D1) transition of Cs has been observed when the blue satellite of the 6 P23/2←6 S21/2 (D2) transition, peaking at ∼837 nm for mixtures of Cs vapor, Ar, and ethane, is pumped by a pulsed dye laser. For 50% output coupling, laser threshold with respect to absorbed pump energy is ∼40 μJ at T=435 K and the slope efficiency approaches 10%. The measured spectral breadth for the blue satellite (≳5 nm at 410 K) will accommodate cw pumping of the Cs laser with conventional semiconductor lasers.