Type
Text
Type
Thesis
Advisor
Figueroa, Eden | Metcalf, Harold J. | Averin, Dmitri.
Date
2015-12-01
Keywords
Physics | Adiabatic, Optical Excitation, Rydberg State
Department
Department of Physics.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76742
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
Research in optically induced transitions between dierent atomic levels has a long history. For transitions between states driven by a coherent optical eld, the theoretical eciency could be ideally high as 100% but there could be many factors preventing this. In the three state helium atom excitation process, i.e. 23S! 33P! nL , the stimulated emission from intermediate state makes it hard to achieve ecient population transfer to the nal state through an intuitive excitation order. One technique to achieve a higher eciency is Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage (STIRAP) which is being studied and under research in our lab. Unlike traditional three level excitation processes, STIRAP actually uses a counter intuitive pulsed laser beams timing arrangement. The excitation objects are metastable helium atoms traveling in a vacuum system with a longitudinal velocity of 1070 m/s. We are using a 389 nm UV laser to connect the 23S and the 33P state and a frequency tunable 790 nm iii IR laser to connect the 33P state and the dierent Rydberg states. A third 1083 nm wavelength laser beam drives the 23S ! 23P transition to transversely separate the residual metastable atoms and the Rydberg atoms for eciency measurements. The data is taken by a stainless steel detector in the vacuum system. As the Rydberg atoms will get ionized by blackbody radiation under room temperature, we can utilize this for their detection. An ion detector sitting on the eld plate is capable to collect the ion signals of the Rydberg atoms for detection. So far the whole system has not been ready for data collection and measurement, so here we are using data and results from previous theses for discussions. The highest transition frequency that has ever been achieved in our lab is around 70% after corrections. | 144 pages
Recommended Citation
Yuan, Deqian, "STIRAP on Helium: Excitation to Rydberg States" (2015). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2623.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2623