Diode laser absorption spectroscopy for teaching undergraduate physics

Author

Otieno, A.V. ; Muthoka, B.M.J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Nairobi Univ., Kenya

Volume

2

fYear

1999

fDate

6/21/1905 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1247

Abstract

We describe the application of a 780 nm diode laser in studying the rubidium D2 transitions (5²P_3/2-5²S _1/2) at 780.2 nm., which has a well known energy structure, by frequency scanning the resonance lines and observing the absorption spectrum to illustrate the role of the nucleus in atomic structure beyond the first order leading to hyperfine interaction in ⁸⁷Rb. The experiment yields very high resolution and illustrates that with diode lasers it is possible to teach undergraduate physics without recourse to expensive laboratory facilities

Keywords

atomic structure; hyperfine structure; infrared spectra; infrared spectroscopy; laser transitions; resonant states; rubidium; semiconductor lasers; student experiments; 5²P_3/2-5²S_1/2; 780 nm; 780 nm diode laser; ⁸⁷Rb; Rb; absorption spectrum; atomic structure; diode laser absorption spectroscopy; energy structure; frequency scanning; hyperfine interaction; laboratory facilities; resonance lines; rubidium D2 transitions; undergraduate physics teaching; very high resolution; Absorption; Atomic beams; Diode lasers; Education; Energy resolution; Laboratories; Physics; Resonance; Resonant frequency; Spectroscopy;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Africon, 1999 IEEE

Conference_Location

Cape Town

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5546-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/AFRCON.1999.821961

Filename

821961