Collimated blue light generation in rubidium vapor – June 2013
MB Kienlen, NT Holte, HA Dassonville, et al,.- American Journal of Physics, Vol 81 (6), pp 442, 2013.
We describe an experiment for generating and characterizing a beam of collimated blue light (CBL) in a rubidium vapor. Two low-power, grating-feedback diode lasers, operating at 780.2 nm (5S1/2→5P3/2) and 776.0 nm (5P3/2→5D5/2), respectively, provide step-wise excitation to the 5D excited state in rubidium. Under the right experimental conditions, cascade decay through the 6P excited state will yield a collimated blue (420-nm) beam of light with high temporal and spatial coherence. We investigate the production of a blue beam under a variety of experimental conditions and characterize the spatial coherence and spectral characteristics. This experiment provides advanced undergraduate students with a unique opportunity to investigate nonlinear optical phenomena in the laboratory and uses equipment that is commonly available in laboratories equipped to investigate diode-laser-based absorption spectroscopy in rubidium… Taken using StellarNet Spectrometer EPP2000, the spectrum shows the blue beam at 420 nm generated within the cell along with the incident laser beams at 776 and 780 nm
