Abstract

Ti:sapphire laser (TSL) has attracted much interest in recent years because of its broad tunability, high efficiency, and high gain. One of the applications which can be addressed by these unique properties of TSL is isotope separation. Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) uses the selective photoionization of the specific atoms in the atomic beam. This method has been applied to many elements. In most AVLIS studies, dye laser has been used as a tunable laser source. TSL has several advantageous features compared with the conventional dye laser:(1) broad tunable range without changing laser medium; (2) stable operation due to the absence of fluctuation of dye flow; (3) easy handling due to the elimination of toxic dye. Adams et al. have applied CW TSL to the high resolution laser spectroscopy,¹⁾ however to our knowledge, TSL has not been applied to the AVLIS process.

© 1992 Optical Society of America