Optical pumping of Rb vapor using high-power Ga{sub 1{minus}{ital x}}Al{sub {ital x}}As diode laser arrays

Journal Article · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · Physical Review A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.51.4842· OSTI ID:56029

Cummings, W J; Haeusser, O; Lorenzon, W ^[1]; Swenson, D R ^[2]; Larson, B ^[3]

---

1. TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 2A3 (Canada)
2. Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS H838, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701-2979 (United States)

The use of high-power Ga{sub 1{minus}{ital x}}Al{sub {ital x}}As diode laser arrays for optical pumping of Rb vapor has been examined both theoretically and experimentally. Our studies show that large atomic polarizations can be obtained using the broad spectral output of a diode laser array if the Rb resonance line is collisionally broadened by several atmospheres of a buffer gas. The objective was to study the effectiveness of diode laser arrays as light sources for optically pumped spin-exchange polarized {sup 3}He targets. The average Rb polarization was deduced at three different Rb vapor pressures using the polarization induced in the {sup 3}He buffer gas. The largest {sup 3}He polarization observed was 53% using a 20-W diode array with 1.9-nm full width at half maximum spectral width in 10.5 amagat of {sup 3}He. This result compares favorably with other light sources for this target. The measured average Rb polarizations are compared to theoretical calculations.

• OSTI ID: 56029
• Journal Information: Physical Review A, Journal Name: Physical Review A Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 51; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
66 PHYSICS
ATOM-ATOM COLLISIONS
HELIUM 3
OPTICAL PUMPING
POLARIZATION
PROBES
RADIATION SOURCES
RUBIDIUM
SPIN EXCHANGE