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Известия Российской академии наук Серия физическая

Optical pumping of rubidium isotopes by Cr3+:BeAl2O4 laser radiation

Alexei A. Antipov, A. G. Putilov, A. E. Shepelev

Published Nov 1, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider the use of a Cr3+:BeAl2O4 laser in free-running operating as a source of emission for optical pumping rubidium alkali metal vapors. The use of dispersive elements in the composition of the laser cavity makes it possible to smoothly tune lasing wavelength and to realize generation at wavelengths corresponding to the D1 and D2 lines of the 85Rb and 87Rb isotopes. Optical pumping of rubidium isotopes by laser emission with wavelengths of 795 and 780 nm, respectively, is experimentally implemented, and their fluorescence is demonstrated. The question of using a wavelength-tunable laser in the method of spin-exchange optical pumping of noble gases is discussed.

DOI
10.31857/s0367676523702794

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Optical Pumping of Rubidium Isotopes with the Radiation of a Cr3+:BeAl2O4 Laser

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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Jan 13, 2017•1 citation
We consider the use of a Cr3+:BeAl2O4 laser in free-running operating as a source of emission for optical pumping rubidium alkali metal vapors. The use of dispersive elements in the composition of the laser cavity makes it possible to smoothly tune lasing wavelength and to realize generation at wavelengths corresponding to the D1 and D2 lines of the 85Rb and 87Rb isotopes. Optical pumping of rubidium isotopes by laser emission with wavelengths of 795 and 780 nm, respectively, is experimentally implemented, and their fluorescence is demonstrated. The question of using a wavelength-tunable laser in the method of spin-exchange optical pumping of noble gases is discussed.
Abstract The authors consider the use of a Cr3+:BeAl2O4 laser operating in the mode of free generation as a source of radiation for the optical pumping of vapors of rubidium alkali metal. The use of dispersive elements in the composition of the laser resonator allows smooth tuning of the radiation and generation at wavelengths corresponding to lines D1 and D2 of isotopes 85Rb and 87Rb. The optical pumping of rubidium isotopes using laser radiation with wavelengths of 795 and 780 nm, respectively, is performed experimentally. The fluorescence of the isotopes is demonstrated. The use of tunable wavelength laser generation in the spin-exchange optical pumping of noble gases is discussed.
This paper shows the possibility of the use of a solid-state alexandrite laser as a radiation source for the method of spin-exchange optical pumping of noble gases (xenon, krypton). The use of dispersive optical elements in the laser cavity will allows the adjusting of the radiation wavelength exactly in the rubidium spectral absorption lines 794.7 nm and 780 nm. To obtain a hyperpolarized state of noble gases, it is necessary to excite rubidium atoms for further spin-exchange process with the noble gas nuclei. This fact will allow the increasing of the magnetic resonance imaging contrast in the field of diagnosis of respiratory organs diseases.
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.
We have developed a versatile pulsed laser system for high precision magnetometry. The operating wavelength of the system can be configured to optically pump alkali vapors such as rubidium and cesium. The laser system consists of an auto-locked, interference filter stabilized, external cavity diode laser (ECDL), a tapered waveguide amplifier, and a pulsing module. The auto-locking controller can be used by an untrained operator to stabilize the laser frequency with respect to a library of atomic, molecular, and solid-state spectral markers. The ECDL output can be amplified from 20 mW to 2 W in continuous wave (CW) mode. The pulsing module, which includes an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), can generate pulses with durations of 20 ns and repetition rates of several MHz. Accordingly, the laser system is well suited for applications such as gravimetry, magnetometry, and differential absorption lidar. In this work, we focus on magnetometric applications and demonstrate that the laser source is suitable for optically pumping rubidium vapor. We also describe numerical simulations of optical pumping relevant to the rubidium D1 and D2 transitions at 795 nm and 780 nm respectively. These studies are relevant to the design and construction of a new generation of portable, rubidium, spin exchange relaxation-free (SERF) magnetometers, capable of sensitivities of 1 fT Hz-1/2 1.
Laser Generation without Population Inversion in the Red Wing of the D1{D}_{1}D1​-Line of Alkali Metal Atoms under Resonant Diode Pumping
A new method of laser radiation generation without population inversion in the red wing of the D1D_{1}D1​ -line of alkali metal atoms under resonant absorption of broadband radiation of pump laser diodes at the D1D_{1}D1​ transition is studied theoretically. The appearance of laser generation is caused by the fact that the probability of stimulated emission in the red wing of the spectral line exceeds the probability of absorption if homogeneous broadening due to interaction between active particles and the buffer gas significantly exceeds the natural broadening (under high pressures of the buffer gas). Analytical formulas representing the operation of a transversely diode-pumped alkali metal vapor laser are obtained. It is found that cesium atoms are the most promising object for observation of laser generation without population inversion in the red wing of the D1D_{1}D1​ -line of alkali metal atoms. In a sufficiently long active medium (the length of the medium is 50 times its width), the efficiency of pumping radiation conversion into laser radiation can reach 57% at a buffer gas pressure of 5 atm, a pump diode radiation intensity of 5 kW/cm 2{}^{2}2 , and a half-width of its spectrum of 1 cm −1{}^{-1}−1 . The laser radiation frequency can be tuned by several tens of cm −1{}^{-1}−1 .
Alternative wavelengths for optically pumped alkali vapor lasers have been developed using single photon excitation of higher lying P-states, stimulated Raman processes, two-photon excitation of S and D states, and electric quadruple excitation on S-D transitions. Two photon excitation of Cs 72D leads to competing and cascade lasing producing red and infrared lasers operating on the D-P transitions, followed by ultraviolet, blue, the standard near infrared DPAL transitions operating on P-S transitions. The S-D pump transitions are fully bleached at pump intensities exceeding 1 MW/cm2, allowing for lasing transitions that terminate on the ground state. The kinetics of these systems are complex due to competition for population inversion among the many optical transitions. An optically pumped mid-infrared rubidium pulsed, mirrorless laser has also been demonstrated in a heat pipe along both the 62P3/2 - 62S1/2 transition at 2.73 μm and the 62P1/2 - 62S1/2 transition at 2.79 μm with a maximum energy of ~100 nJ. Performance improves dramatically as the rubidium vapor density is increased, in direct contradiction with the prior work. No scaling limitations associated with energy pooling or ionization kinetics have been observed. Practical application for infrared counter measures depends on the further development of blue diode pump sources. Finally, stimulated electronic Raman scattering and hyper-Raman processes in potassium vapor near the D1 and D2 lines have been observed using a stable resonator and pulsed laser excitation. First and second order Stokes and anti-Stokes lines were observed simultaneously and independently for a pump laser tuning range exceeding 70 cm-1. When the pump is tuned between the K D1 and D2 lines, an efficient hyper-Raman process dominates with a slope efficiency that exceeds 10%. Raman shifted laser may be useful as a target illuminator or atmospheric compensation beacon for a high power diode pumped alkali laser.