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arXiv:physics/0612046 · Review of Scientific Instruments

Thermal beam of metastable krypton atoms produced by optical excitation

Yue Ding, Shui-Ming Hu, K. Bailey, A. M. Davis, R. W. Dunford, Zheng‐Tian Lu, Thomas P. O’Connor, Linda Young

Published Feb 1, 2007• 25 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A room-temperature beam of krypton atoms in the metastable 5s[3/2]2 level is demonstrated via an optical excitation method. A Kr-discharge lamp is used to produce vacuum ultraviolet photons at 124 nm for the first-step excitation from the ground level 4p6 1S0 to the 5s[3/2]1 level. An 819 nm Ti:sapphire laser is used for the second-step excitation from 5s[3/2]1 to 5s[3/2]2 followed by a spontaneous decay to the 5s[3/2]2 metastable level. A metastable atomic beam with an angular flux density of 3 x 10(14) s(-1) sr(-1) is achieved at the total gas flow rate of 0.01 cm3/s at STP (or 3 x 10(17) at./s). The dependences of the flux on the gas flow rate, laser power, and lamp parameters are investigated.

DOI
10.1063/1.2437193

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•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations
A room-temperature beam of krypton atoms in the metastable 5s[3/2]2 level is demonstrated via an optical excitation method. A Kr-discharge lamp is used to produce vacuum ultraviolet photons at 124 nm for the first-step excitation from the ground level 4p6 1S0 to the 5s[3/2]1 level. An 819 nm Ti:sapphire laser is used for the second-step excitation from 5s[3/2]1 to 5s[3/2]2 followed by a spontaneous decay to the 5s[3/2]2 metastable level. A metastable atomic beam with an angular flux density of 3 x 10(14) s(-1) sr(-1) is achieved at the total gas flow rate of 0.01 cm3/s at STP (or 3 x 10(17) at./s). The dependences of the flux on the gas flow rate, laser power, and lamp parameters are investigated.
We have investigated a new scheme for excitation of the 5s, J = 2 metastable level of Kr (5s[3/2] J = 2 ) which can be readily extended to other rare gases. In the scheme, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp is used to create a population of Kr atoms in the 5s[3/2] J = 1 level in a gas cell. The excited atoms are then pumped to the 5p[3/2] J = 2 level, using 819 nm light from a Ti:sapphire laser, from which they decay to the metastable state with a branching ratio of 77%. We made two striking observations: (1) the laser power required to saturate the second step decreases markedly as a function of gas cell pressure, and (2) the UV photon flux is converted with very high efficiency (≈10%) to metastable atom flux. A Monte Carlo study of the scattering of UV photons in the cell reproduces the trends observed. The understanding achieved points to the design of a higher flux source of metastable atoms.
We demonstrate excitation of metastable krypton and xenon beams using a vacuum ultraviolet lamp and directly compare the performance of this method to metastable excitation based on a radio-frequency-driven plasma discharge. In our apparatus, lamp-based metastable excitation outperforms the plasma discharge across a wide range of beam flux values relevant for atom trap trace analysis (ATTA). Moreover, we do not observe significant degradation in lamp performance after over 160 h of operation. We find that lamp-based excitation is particularly advantageous at the smallest and largest beam fluxes tested, demonstrating the utility of this approach both for improving krypton ATTA and for enabling the detection of radioactive xenon isotopes using ATTA. Finally, we demonstrate an additional enhancement to lamp-based metastable excitation efficiency and stability by applying an external magnetic field.
Metastable noble gas atomic beam is widely used in atomic and molecular physics studies.Using radio-frequency discharge and transverse laser cooling, we produced a well-collimated intense meta-stable Krypton beam.Numerical simulation is also used to analyze the trajectories of atoms in an optic field produced by transverse cooling laser beams.The charactersisticl of the atomic beam are determined by measuring the laser induced fluorescence.The atomic beam flux measured at 230 cm downstream is 1.61016 atoms/(s*sr), which is enhanced by two orders of magnitude.The Kr atoms are finally trapped in a magneto-optic trap.A total of 1.31010 meta-stable 84Kr atoms can be simultaneously trapped with a loading rate of 3.01011 atoms/s.The same setup is also successfully used to obtain a bright metastable atomic argon beam and trap.
n this presentation, we discuss results from two separate bodies of work. In the first, we investigate all-optical excitation methods to produce metastable-state krypton. The high energies required to excite rare gases out of their ground state present a unique challenge in the context of laser experiments. Laser physics work with rare gases often relies on excitation within an RF discharge. All-optical excitation is a promising replacement for RF discharges, avoids problems caused by ion production and may eventually allow for higher efficiencies. We examine three separate methods of all-optical metastable-state production: using an ArF excimer laser, using the third harmonic of the Jefferson Lab free-electron laser (FEL), and using a commercially available UV lamp. In the second body of work, we perform photoassociation spectroscopy in an ultracold, heteronuclear Rb + Ar* system. Photoassociation is a method that may be used to both 1) produce ultracold molecules, and 2) perform high-resolution spectroscopy on excited molecular states. Most work within the field has been performed within all alkali-metal systems. We examine a unique noble gas–alkali system within a dual species magneto-optical trap. We have performed a comprehensive search for evidence of excitation to molecular levels of RbAr. We illuminate atom pairs with a photoassociation laser in a spectral region detuned a few GHz below an atomic asymptote of argon, analogous to previous work in the homo-nuclear argon or krypton systems. We discuss our methodology and findings. We conclude with a discussion of how our results may be applied to future spectroscopic searches
We have realized the optical excitation of krypton to a metastable level with an efficiency as high as 2323\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}%23 using near-resonant 124-nm light produced by four-wave mixing in mercury vapor. Self-absorption in mercury is circumvented by adjusting the detuning and phase matching according to experimental and theoretical characterizations. Density-matrix calculations of the metastable krypton generation agree with the measured dependencies of the excitation efficiency, indicating pathways towards a further improvement. The obtained excitation efficiency, being one order of magnitude higher than that of previously demonstrated techniques, enables an extension of the metastable density regime for atomic physics applications, including magnetometry, atom lithography, and radioisotope dating.