Two color pumping of the Rb D2 line laser (780nm) through the photoassociation of Rb-Ar or Rb-Xe thermal pairs: Realization of a quantum efficiency above one

A. E. Mironov, W. Goldshlag, J. G. Eden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A two color process for optical pumping of the Rb D2 line laser (λ=780nm) in Rb vapor-rare gas mixtures is demonstrated to yield an overall quantum efficiency>1. Combining photoexcitation of the Rb D2 line blue satellite in Rb-Xe or Rb-Ar mixtures with free ← free optical pumping of the A2Π12←X2Σ12+ transition at large internuclear separation (R>5Å) also increases the laser efficiency and pump absorption coefficient, relative to the single color, B ← X pumped system, by a factor of 1.7 and more than an order of magnitude, respectively. Simultaneous photopumping of Rb-Xe thermal collision pairs at 760nm (D2 satellite) and 794.3nm results in a 780nm (D2 line) laser with a quantum efficiency of 1.008 which corresponds to the removal of ∼102cm-1 (12.6meV) of thermal energy per emitted photon.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number041112
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume107
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 27 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Two color pumping of the Rb D2 line laser (780nm) through the photoassociation of Rb-Ar or Rb-Xe thermal pairs: Realization of a quantum efficiency above one'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this