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SELECTIVE REFLECTION SPECTROSCOPY WITH A HIGHLY PARALLEL WINDOW: PHASE TUNABLE HOMODYNE DETECTION OF THE RADIATED ATOMIC FIELD

A. Papoyan, G. G. Grigoryan, Svetlana Shmavonyan, David G. Sarkisyan, Jocelyne Guéna, Michel Lintz, Marie-Anne Bouchiat

Published Jan 1, 2004• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Selective reflection (SR) spectroscopy is usually performed in vapour cells with a wedged window. This prevents contributions to the SR signal due to interference with the beam reflected from the outer side of the window. We report, for the first time to our knowledge, SR spectroscopy measurements made with a cell having highly parallel windows. The recorded spectra are dramatically affected by the interference in the window [1]. When the two reflected beams interfere constructively (reflection maximum), the spectra display sub-Doppler features associated with the real part of the atomic response, as is usual in SR spectroscopy. By contrast, when the reflected beams interfere nearly destructively, the spectra are characterised by absorptive lineshapes, indicating that the imaginary part of the atomic response is dominant. Indeed, the use of a parallel window allows homodyne detection of the radiated atomic field. Phase tuning is achieved by choosing the order of the interference, here using temperature control of the window [2]. We first present the spectra, then give a qualitative explanation of this behaviour, and present a calculation of the reflected intensity, which takes into account, to all orders, the interference in the window. The model, with no adjustable parameter except the exact window thickness, shows excellent agreement with the spectra recorded on the caesium D2 line [1]. The interest of this experimental technique is that one can switch from one regime to the other very easily by changing the window temperature by a few degree Celsius (about 17°C in the case of our 0.5mm thickness sapphire window). It also allows tuneable laser frequency locking with a slope of about 2MHz/°C in our case. References: [1] A. V. Papoyan, G. G. Grigoryan, S. V. Shmavonyan, D. Sarkisyan, J. Guéna, M. Lintz and M.-A. Bouchiat, Eur. Phys. J. D30 (2004) 265-273 [2] E. Jahier, J. Guéna, Ph. Jacquier, M. Lintz, A. V. Papoyan and M.-A. Bouchiat: "Temperature-tunable sapphire windows for reflection loss free operation of cesium cells", Appl. Phys. B71 (2000) 561-565.

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Selective reflection (SR) spectroscopy is usually performed in vapour cells with a wedged window. This prevents contributions to the SR signal due to interference with the beam reflected from the outer side of the window. We report, for the first time to our knowledge, SR spectroscopy measurements made with a cell having highly parallel windows. The recorded spectra are dramatically affected by the interference in the window [1]. When the two reflected beams interfere constructively (reflection maximum), the spectra display sub-Doppler features associated with the real part of the atomic response, as is usual in SR spectroscopy. By contrast, when the reflected beams interfere nearly destructively, the spectra are characterised by absorptive lineshapes, indicating that the imaginary part of the atomic response is dominant. Indeed, the use of a parallel window allows homodyne detection of the radiated atomic field. Phase tuning is achieved by choosing the order of the interference, here using temperature control of the window [2]. We first present the spectra, then give a qualitative explanation of this behaviour, and present a calculation of the reflected intensity, which takes into account, to all orders, the interference in the window. The model, with no adjustable parameter except the exact window thickness, shows excellent agreement with the spectra recorded on the caesium D2 line [1]. The interest of this experimental technique is that one can switch from one regime to the other very easily by changing the window temperature by a few degree Celsius (about 17°C in the case of our 0.5mm thickness sapphire window). It also allows tuneable laser frequency locking with a slope of about 2MHz/°C in our case. References: [1] A. V. Papoyan, G. G. Grigoryan, S. V. Shmavonyan, D. Sarkisyan, J. Guéna, M. Lintz and M.-A. Bouchiat, Eur. Phys. J. D30 (2004) 265-273 [2] E. Jahier, J. Guéna, Ph. Jacquier, M. Lintz, A. V. Papoyan and M.-A. Bouchiat: "Temperature-tunable sapphire windows for reflection loss free operation of cesium cells", Appl. Phys. B71 (2000) 561-565.
On an example of the D 2 -line of the Rb atoms the work of the frequency reference of atomic transitions is demonstrated, based on the application of the spectrum of a selective reflectance (SR) from the boundary of atom vapors with the use of nano-cell (NC) with the thickness L ~ λ /2, where λ is the laser wavelength equal to 780 nm. When changing the thickness of the nano-cell near the thickness L ~ λ /2, we observe the inversion of sign of the SR slope profile which is positive when L < λ /2 and negative when L > λ /2. In the case when the incidence angle of the laser beam on the surface of the nano-cell is close to the normal, in real-time it is possible to form the derivative of the SR which represents a resonance peak with ~35 MHz spectral linewidth and located at the atomic transition. The phenomenon of oscillation of the sign of slope while changing the nano-cell thickness from L ~ λ /2 up to L ~ 3/2 λ is demonstrated. The practical application of the SR is noted.
Abstract The effect of selective reflection (SR) of laser radiation from the boundary of 87 Rb D 2 -line atomic vapors and a dielectric window was studied using a nanocell (NC) with a vapor column thickness of ~300 nm. The formation of an SR with a spectral width of 25 MHz, located on atomic transitions, is demonstrated. This is a record narrowing of the 670 MHz Doppler width by a factor of 27 using single-pass geometry. The SR signal reaches several percent of the intensity of its forming radiation, and the SR amplitude’s linear dependence is maintained up to 100 mW/cm 2 , which is almost two orders of magnitude greater than the saturation intensity of optical processes when using centimeter-long cells with atomic vapors. Such a high saturation intensity value is achieved by using the nanocell.
Decoupling of total electronic and nuclear spin moments of Cs atoms in an external magnetic field for the case of atomic D1 line, leading to onset of the hyperfine Paschen–Back (HPB) regime, is studied theoretically and experimentally. Selective reflection (SR) of laser radiation from an interface of dielectric window and atomic vapor confined in a nanocell with 300 nm gap thickness is implemented for the experimental studies. The real-time derivative of SR signal with a frequency position coinciding with atomic transitions is used in the measurements, providing ∼40 MHz spectral resolution and linearity of the signal response with respect to the transition probability. The behavior of 28 individual Zeeman transitions in a wide range of longitudinal magnetic field (0–6 kG) is tracked under the excitation of Cs vapor by a low-intensity σ+-polarized cw laser radiation. For B≥6 kG, only eight transitions with nearly equal probabilities and the same frequency slope remain in the spectrum, which is a manifestation of the HPB regime. The obtained experimental results are in very good agreement with the numerical modeling. A small divergence of the SR signal as well as subwavelength thickness and sub-Doppler spectral linewidth inherent to nanocell make it possible for the employed technique to be used for distant remote sensing of a magnetic field with high spatial and B-field resolution.
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.
We report the preliminary results of experimental studies of a dense cesium vapor in all-sapphire sealed-off Cs cell (temperature up to 500 °C, atomic and molecular densities up to 1018 and 3.2x1016 cm-3, respectively) in selective reflection (SR) configuration. Probing the vapor by a 780 nm laser radiation scanned in 20 GHz range, we have observed a spectral structure, which appears in the vapor temperature range of 250 - 400 °C. Though the cell is filled with pure cesium, starting from 300 °C we have revealed a noticeable SR contribution of rubidium atomic D2 line transitions that fall in the laser tuning range. The spectral features observed in present work can be attributed not only to cesium dimers (Cs2) having absorption band in this spectral region, but also to RbCs molecules. Relevant spectroscopic properties of these molecules are also addressed. We believe this is the first observation of selective reflection from the interface of dielectric and molecular vapor. More experiments and theoretical treatment is required to clarify the mechanisms involved and identify the origin of each spectral component, the further work program is outlined.
Abstract We demonstrate that a method using the derivative of the selective reflection (SR) signal from a nanocell is a convenient and robust tool for atomic laser spectroscopy, achieving a nearly Doppler-free spectral resolution. The recorded linewidth of the signal from a potassium-filled cell, whose thickness ℓ lies in the range 350–500 nm, is 18 times smaller than the Doppler linewidth (∼900 MHz full width at half maximum) of potassium atoms. We also show experimentally a sign oscillation of the reflected signal’s derivative with a periodicity of λ /2 when ℓ varies from 190 to 1200 nm confirming the theoretical prediction. We report the first measurement of the van der Waals atom-surface interaction coefficient C 3 = 1.9 ± 0.3 kHz × μ m 3 of potassium 4 S 1 / 2 → 4 P 3 / 2 transitions with the nanocell’s sapphire windows, demonstrating the usefulness and convenience of the derivative of SR technique for cell thicknesses in the range 60–120 nm.