Atomic hyperfine structure studies using temperature/current tuning of diode lasers: An undergraduate experiment

We present a simple and inexpensive experimental arrangement for hyperfine structure studies in atoms using commercially available laser diodes and hollow cathode lamps. The experiment is highly suitable for the undergraduate laboratory. This technique can be employed to investigate the hyperfine structure of rare earth and other elements such as Ta and Nb which have large nuclear magnetic and or quadrupole moments. In this paper, we report well-resolved hyperfine structure spectra recorded for holmium employing optogalvanic spectroscopy. We also report Doppler limited hyperfine structure measurements on the ground state of rubidium using injection current/ temperature tuning of the diode laser. This involves a simple experimental arrangement suitable for undergraduate laboratories. The hyperfine coupling constants for the level at 31 443.26 cm in Ho I are reported for the first time. Details of the data analysis to obtain accurate hyperfine structure coupling constants from the observed spectra are presented. A number of commercially available diode lasers in the visible and the near infrared regions and simple in-house developed or commercially available low cost current and temperature controllers can be employed for the present studies. We employ simple cooling/heating or current modulation for tuning the output wavelength of the diode laser. The presently proposed experimental arrangement can be assembled easily and requires no machine/glass shop facilities. © 1998 American Association of Physics Teachers.