Abstract
We have demonstrated a technique which enhances emission lines of core-excited Na transitions occurring in a hollow-cathode discharge. The technique should apply to other alkali atoms and could help in identifying the core-excited visible spectra of heavier alkali atoms. In our experiment, stored population is produced by the discharge in the Na-ion metastable level 2p53s J = 2. A pulsed dye laser is used to transfer this population to a higher ion level of the 2p53p configuration. Core-excited neutral atoms are subsequently produced by an exothermic charge transfer from ground neutrals to the enhanced parent 2p53p ion population. We observe enhanced fluorescence (2 to 3 times above background levels) from neutral 2p53s3d, 2p53s4s, and possibly 2p53p2 configurations when the metastable ion population is transferred to higher ion levels.
© 1987 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
D. E. Holmgren, D. J. Walker, D. A. King, and S. E. Harris
MC5 Laser Techniques in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUVS) 1984
S. G. Dinev, I. L. Stefanov, and I. V. Tomov
TuP15 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC) 1988
R. E. Walkup, Ph. Avouris, and A. P. Ghosh
MC4 Microphysics of Surfaces, Beams, and Adsorbates (MSBA) 1987