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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Optical control of high-density alkali atom vapor in antirelaxation coated cells

S. Tsvetkov, S. Gateva, E. Mariotti

Published Mar 1, 2021• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we report on our investigations on LIAD (Light Induced Atomic Desorption) aimed at achieving high density of alkali atoms vapor in a coated cell at room temperature. The experimental results show the possibility to reach a density up to the limit when the medium becomes optically thick by applying highly efficient homogeneous illumination. The photon reabsorption mechanism prevents the precise evaluation of the density by measuring the absorption of a probe laser beam, but there is clear evidence that densities can be achieved higher by two orders of magnitude than the thermodynamic equilibrium value.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/1859/1/012055

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Abstract In this work, we report on our investigations on LIAD (Light Induced Atomic Desorption) aimed at achieving high density of alkali atoms vapor in a coated cell at room temperature. The experimental results show the possibility to reach a density up to the limit when the medium becomes optically thick by applying highly efficient homogeneous illumination. The photon reabsorption mechanism prevents the precise evaluation of the density by measuring the absorption of a probe laser beam, but there is clear evidence that densities can be achieved higher by two orders of magnitude than the thermodynamic equilibrium value.
We report some preliminary results on experimental investigation of the potential of Light Induced Atomic Desorption (LIAD) applications for density control in antirelaxation coated cells and coherent spectroscopy. LIAD is a non-thermal process whereby atoms adsorbed on a surface are released under illumination. It is applied mostly to implementing optical atomic dispensers in the cases when high atomic density at low temperature is needed - for example, for loading atomic devices as atomic magnetometers, atomic clocks, atomic traps and their miniaturization. An advantage of the light control is that it is faster than the temperature control. More than an order of increase of the density with LIAD is obtained. Some peculiarities in the 780 nm absorption and fluorescence spectra registered in dense Rb vapor are registered. The absorption and fluorescence spectra in Rb vapors controlled by temperature and LIAD are compared.
Antirelaxation coatings (ARC) are used in optical cells containing alkali metal vapor to reduce the depolarization of alkali atoms after collisions with the cell walls. The long-lived ground state polarization is a basis for development of atomic clocks, magnetometers, quantum memory, slow light experiments, precision measurements of fundamental symmetries etc. Another application of ARC is with Light-Induced Atomic Desorption (LIAD) for implementation optical dispensers for loading atomic devices as atomic magnetometers, atomic clocks, magneto-optical traps and their miniaturization. In this work, the Rb atomic density and the spin randomization (the number of collisions without spin depolarization) are investigated in PDMS coated vacuum cell when the density is controlled by LIAD, and compared with the results when the density is controlled by temperature. A simple method for measurement of the number of collisions without spin-randomization is used, which comprises recording of the time dependence of the fluorescence intensity of alkali atoms during exposure of the cell to resonant radiation pulses. The obtained results are discussed from point of view of LIAD applications for density control in spectroscopy investigations.
This work is devoted to a systematic study of the effect of Light-Induced Atomic Desorption (LIAD). LIAD is a non-heating process in which atoms adsorbed on a surface are desorbed by illumination with non-resonant light. The aim of the dissertation is an experimental study of the LIAD process, its influence on the spectra of alkali atoms in optical cells without and with Anti-Relaxation Coating (ARC) and the possibilities of LIAD for optical characterization of ARC, as well as in high resolution spectroscopy. For the first time, the LIAD process under homogeneous illumination was investigated experimentally, whereby the efficiency of the LIAD was significantly increased even for a cell without ARC, the dynamic characteristics are obtained with a better signal to noise ratio and repeatability, and the desorption and adsorption processes are faster. LIAD effect in cells with different ARC coatings has shown that each coating has different desorption and adsorption rates and the results obtained show the possibility of applying the method for optical characterization of ARC. An experimental study of the number of collisions without atomic spin depolarization in cells with different ARCs and the impact of LIAD was performed, as well as various parameters such as laser intensity and cell temperature were investigated.
Atomic-vapor density change due to light induced atomic desorption (LIAD) is studied in paraffin-coated rubidium, cesium, sodium, and potassium cells. In the present experiment, low-intensity probe light is used to obtain an absorption spectrum and measure the vapor density, while light from an argon-ion laser, array of light emitting diodes, or discharge lamp is used for desorption. Potassium is found to exhibit significantly weaker LIAD from paraffin compared to Rb and Cs, and we were unable to observe LIAD with sodium. A simple LIAD model is applied to describe the observed vapor-density dynamics, and the role of the cell's stem is explored through the use of cells with lockable stems. Stabilization of Cs vapor density above its equilibrium value over 25min25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{min}25min is demonstrated. The results of this work could be used to assess the use of LIAD for vapor-density control in magnetometers, clocks, and gyroscopes utilizing coated cells.
We present in this paper recent results on Light - Induced Atom Desorption (LIAD) in sealed and open coated cells. LIAD is defined via the description of an experiment on rubidium atoms stored in a dry - film coated cell, where a few milliwatts of even non coherent and non resonant light are able to increase the alkali atomic density for more than one order of magnitude. Modeling of the effect is given. New features become relevant in the case of LIAD in porous glasses: in fact, although the photodesorption efficiency per unit area in bare glass is much lower, photoatomic sources can be prepared, due to the huge inner surface of porous samples. We applied LIAD from organic coatings to the stabilization of alkali densities out of equilibrium: sodium case is here discussed. Finally, we report on fully original, preliminary measurements of rubidium Magneto - Optical Trap loading via LIAD from a dry - film coated cell.
Abstract Biomagnetic sensing is a powerful non-invasive tool for sensing the extremely small magnetic signals of living organisms. In recent years, the efforts to achieve higher resolution has brought about a demand for novel methods of increasing this tool’s sensitivity and further its miniaturization. In this paper, we present our studies on the optical control of the atomic vapor density in antirelaxation coated cells for application in optical magnetometry. A special system for homogeneous illumination of the cell walls is used to increase the atomic density, avoid the deposition of alkali atoms on the cell walls and reduce the coating deterioration.