Abstract
Using a three-step transverse laser cooling scheme, a strongly diverging flow of metastable Ne(3s 3 P 2] atoms is compressed into a well-collimated, small diameter atomic beam (e.g., 1.4 mrad HWHM divergence at 3.6 mm beam diameter) with an unmodified axial velocity distribution centered at 580 m/s. The maximum increase in beam flux 1.04 m downstream of the source is a factor 1400; the maximum increase in phase space density, i.e., brightness, is a factor 160. The laser power used is only 140 mW. The scheme is extendable to a large variety of atomic species and enables the application of bright atomic beams in many areas of physics.
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Hoogerland, M.D., Driessen, J.P.J., Vredenbregt, E.J.D. et al. Bright thermal atomic beams by laser cooling: A 1400-fold gain in beam flux. Appl. Phys. B 62, 323–327 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081192
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081192