Multilayer gas cells for sub-Doppler spectroscopy

Abstract

We have carried out theoretical research on ultra-high resolution spectroscopy of atoms (or molecules) in the suggested cell with a series of plane-parallel thin gas layers between spatially separated gas regions of this cell for optical pumping and probing. It is shown the effective velocity selection of optically pumped atoms because of their specific transit time and collisional relaxation in such a cell, which lead to narrow sub-Doppler resonances in absorption of the probe monochromatic light beam. Resolution of this spectroscopic method is analyzed in cases of stationary and definite nonstationary optical pumping of atoms by the broadband radiation versus geometrical parameters of given cells and pumping intensity. The suggested multilayer gas cell is the compact analog of many parallel atomic (molecular) beams and may be used also as the basis of new compact optical frequency standards of high accuracy.