Hyperfine filter for the resonance lines of caesium and rubidium
AssigneeConsiglio Nazionale Della Ricerche
InventorsFranco Strumia, Nicola Beverini
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hyperfine filter for the resonance lines of alkali metals, as caesium and rubidium, comprising: A cell transparent to the light rays and which contains vapours of the alkali metal to be filtered; Means for generating a magnetic field, into which is placed said cell; A lamp of said metal, means to direct the light beam emitted from the lamp to hit said cell where only one of the two orthogonal components of circular polarization is absorbed; A circular analyzer provided to separe one of the hyperfine component of the light beam emerging from said cell from the other; and An interference filter to select the particular resonance line which is desired to be used.
Claims8
A hyperfine filter for the resonance lines of the alkali metals, caesium and rubidium which comprises in series,
- a cell transparent to light rays and which contains vapors of the alkali metal to be filtered;
- a device for generating a magnetic field into which said cell is placed;
- a lamp of the metal of which filtering is desired, the light beam emitted therefrom being directed to strike said cell so that the two hyperfine components of the resonance line passing through the cell are absorbed by the atoms present in the cell as radiation 6.sup.+ or 6.sup.- respectively so that in each hyperfine line only one of the two orthogonal components of circular polarization is absorbed;
- a circular analyzer for separating one of the hyperfine components of the light beam emerging from the said cell from the other and which includes a .lambda./4-wave plate and a linear polarizer arranged in series;
- and
- an interference filter for selecting the particular resonance line desired.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.