Optically enhanced production of metastable xenon

Abstract

Metastable states of noble gas atoms are typically produced by electrical discharge techniques or "all-optical" excitation methods. Here we combine electrical discharges with optical pumping to demonstrate "optically enhanced" production of metastable xenon (Xe*). We experimentally measure large increases in Xe* density with relatively small optical control field powers. This technique may have applications in systems where large metastable state densities are desirable.

3 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (2)

• All-optical production and trapping of metastable noble gas atoms down to the single atom regime
• Low-Power Cross-Phase Modulation in a Metastable Xenon-Filled Cavity for Quantum Information Applications

Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Optically enhanced discharge excitation and trapping of ${}^{39}Ar$