Ultracold neutral plasma expansion in two dimensions

We extend an isothermal thermal model of ultracold neutral plasma expansion to systems without spherical symmetry, and use this model to interpret new fluorescence measurements on these plasmas. By assuming a self-similar expansion, it is possible to solve the fluid equations analytically and to include velocity effects to predict the fluorescence signals. In spite of the simplicity of this approach, the model reproduces the major features of the experimental data

Fluorescence measurements of expanding strongly-coupled neutral plasmas

We report new detailed density profile measurements in expanding strongly-coupled neutral plasmas. Using laser-induced fluorescence techniques, we determine plasma densities in the range of 10^5 to 10^9/cm^3 with a time resolution limit as small as 7 ns. Strong-coupling in the plasma ions is inferred directly from the fluorescence signals. Evidence for strong-coupling at late times is presented, confirming a recent theoretical result.Comment: submitted to PR

Improved ionization potential of calcium using frequency-comb based Rydberg spectroscopy

We report new frequency-comb-based measurements of Ca Rydberg energy levels. Counter-propagating laser beams at 390 nm and 423 nm excite Ca atoms from the 4s^2~^1\mbox{S}_0 ground state to 4sns~^1\mbox{S}_0 Rydberg levels with $n$ ranging from 40 to 110. Near-resonant two-photon two-color excitation of atoms in a thermal beam makes it possible to eliminate the first-order Doppler shift. The resulting lineshapes are symmetric and Gaussian. We verify laser metrology and absolute accuracy by reproducing measurements of well-known transitions in Cs, close to the fundamental wavelengths of our frequency-doubled ti:sapphire lasers. From the measured transition energies we derive the ionization potential of Ca, E_{\rm IP} = 1, 478, 154, 283.42 \pm 0.08 \mbox{(statistical)} \pm 0.07 \mbox{(systematic)} MHz, improving the previous best determination by a factor of 11.Comment: submitted to Phys Rev

Compact solid-state laser source for 1S-2S spectroscopy in atomic hydrogen

We demonstrate a novel compact solid-state laser source for high-resolution two-photon spectroscopy of the $1S-2S$ transition in atomic hydrogen. The source emits up to 20 mW at 243 nm and consists of a 972 nm diode laser, a tapered amplifier, and two doubling stages. The diode laser is actively stabilized to a high-finesse cavity. We compare the new source to the stable 486 nm dye laser used in previous experiments and record 1S-2S spectra using both systems. With the solid-state laser system we demonstrate a resolution of the hydrogen spectrometer of 6 \times 10^{11} which is promising for a number of high-precision measurements in hydrogen-like systems

Comparison of Minority Carrier Lifetime Measurements in Superstrate and Substrate CdTe PV Devices: Preprint

We discuss typical and alternative procedures to analyze time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements of minority carrier lifetime (MCL) with the hope of enhancing our understanding of how this technique may be used to better analyze CdTe photovoltaic (PV) device functionality. Historically, TRPL measurements of the fast recombination rate (t1) have provided insightful correlation with broad device functionality. However, we have more recently found that t1 does not correlate as well with smaller changes in device performance, nor does it correlate well with performance differences observed between superstrate and substrate CdTe PV devices. This study presents TRPL data for both superstrate and substrate CdTe devices where both t1 and the slower TRPL decay (t2) are analyzed. The study shows that changes in performance expected from small changes in device processing may correlate better with t2. Numerical modeling further suggests that, for devices that are expected to have similar drift field in the depletion region, effects of changes in bulk MCL and interface recombination should be more pronounced in t2. Although this technique may provide future guidance to improving CdS/CdTe device performance, it is often difficult to extract statistically precise values for t2, and therefore t2 data may demonstrate significant scatter when correlated with performance parameters

Prospects for precision measurements of atomic helium using direct frequency comb spectroscopy

We analyze several possibilities for precisely measuring electronic transitions in atomic helium by the direct use of phase-stabilized femtosecond frequency combs. Because the comb is self-calibrating and can be shifted into the ultraviolet spectral region via harmonic generation, it offers the prospect of greatly improved accuracy for UV and far-UV transitions. To take advantage of this accuracy an ultracold helium sample is needed. For measurements of the triplet spectrum a magneto-optical trap (MOT) can be used to cool and trap metastable 2^3S state atoms. We analyze schemes for measuring the two-photon $2^3S \to 4^3S$ interval, and for resonant two-photon excitation to high Rydberg states, $2^3S \to 3^3P \to n^3S,D$. We also analyze experiments on the singlet-state spectrum. To accomplish this we propose schemes for producing and trapping ultracold helium in the 1^1S or 2^1S state via intercombination transitions. A particularly intriguing scenario is the possibility of measuring the $1^1S \to 2^1S$ transition with extremely high accuracy by use of two-photon excitation in a magic wavelength trap that operates identically for both states. We predict a ``triple magic wavelength'' at 412 nm that could facilitate numerous experiments on trapped helium atoms, because here the polarizabilities of the 1^1S, 2^1S and 2^3S states are all similar, small, and positive.Comment: Shortened slightly and reformatted for Eur. Phys. J.