Resonant infiltration of an opal: reflection lineshape and contribution from in-depth regions

We analyze the resonant variation of the optical reflection on an infiltrated artificial opal made of transparent nanospheres. The resonant infiltration is considered as a perturbation in the frame of a previously described one-dimensional model based upon a stratified effective index. We show that for a thin slice of resonant medium, the resonant response oscillates with the position of this slice. We derive that for adequate conditions of incidence angle, this spatially oscillating behavior matches the geometrical periodicity of the opal, and hence the related density of resonant infiltration. Close to these matching conditions, the resonant response of the global infiltration varies sharply in amplitude and shape with the incidence angle and polarization. The corresponding resonant reflection originates from a rather deep infiltration, up to several wavelengths or layers of spheres. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the present predictions and our previous observations on an opal infiltrated with a resonant vapor.Comment: to appear in J Chem Phy

A 2D nanosphere array for atomic spectroscopy

We are interested in the spectroscopic behaviour of a gas confined in a micrometric or even nanometric volume. Such a situation could be encountered by the filling-up of a porous medium, such as a photonic crystal, with an atomic gas. Here, we discuss the first step of this program, with the generation and characterization of a self-organized 2D film of nanospheres of silica. We show that an optical characterization by laser light diffraction permits to extract some information on the array structure and represents an interesting complement to electron microscopy.Comment: accept\'e pour publication \`a Annales de Physique- proceedings of COLOQ1

Optics of an opal modeled with a stratified effective index and the effect of the interface

Reflection and transmission for an artificial opal are described through a model of stratified medium based upon a one-dimensional variation of an effective index. The model is notably applicable to a Langmuir-Blodgett type disordered opal. Light scattering is accounted for by a phenomenological absorption. The interface region between the opal and the substrate -or the vacuum- induces a periodicity break in the photonic crystal arrangement, which exhibits a prominent influence on the reflection, notably away from the Bragg reflection peak. Experimental results are compared to our model. The model is extendable to inverse opals, stacked cylinders, or irradiation by evanescent wavesComment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1407.577

Detection of slow atoms confined in a Cesium vapor cell by spatially separated pump and probe laser beams

proceedings of 17th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, neesebar, bulgaria Sept 2012 edited by Tanja Dreischuh, Albena DaskalovaInternational audienceThe velocity distribution of atoms in a thermal gas is usually described through a Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of energy, and assumes isotropy. As a consequence, the probability for an atom to leave the surface under an azimuth angle θ should evolve as cos θ, in spite of the fact that there is no microscopic basis to justify such a law. The contribution of atoms moving at a grazing incidence towards or from the surface, i.e. atoms with a small normal velocity, here called "slow" atoms, reveals essential in the development of spectroscopic methods probing a dilute atomic vapor in the vicinity of a surface, enabling a sub-Doppler resolution under a normal incidence irradiation. The probability for such "slow" atoms may be reduced by surface roughness and atom-surface interaction. Here, we describe a method to observe and to count these slow atoms relying on a mechanical discrimination, through spatially separated pump and probe beams. We also report on our experimental progresses toward such a goal

Sub-Doppler optical resolution by confining a vapour in a nanostructure

We show that a thermal vapor confined in a nanostructure is of spectroscopic interest. We perform reflection spectroscopy on a Cs vapour cell whose window is covered with a thin opal film (typically, 10 or 20 layers of ~ 1{\mu}m diameter spheres). Sub-Doppler structures appear in the optical spectrum in a purely linear regime of optical excitation and the signal is shown to originate from the interstitial regions of the opal. These narrow spectral structures, observable for a large range of oblique incidence angles (~ 30-50&deg), are an original feature associated to the 3-D vapor confinement. It remembers a Dicke narrowing, i.e. a Doppler broadening suppression when the atomic motion is sub-wavelength confined. This narrowing, commonly observed in the r.f. domain when a buffer gas ensures a collision confinement effect, had remained elusive in the optical frequency. Also, we describe preliminary experiments performed in a pump-probe technique, intended to elucidate the spatial origin of the narrow contribution. We finally discuss how our results allow envisioning micron-size references for optical frequency clocks, and high resolution spectroscopy of weak and hard-to-saturate molecular lines

Dicke Coherent Narrowing in Two-Photon and Raman Spectroscopy of Thin Vapour Cells

The principle of coherent Dicke narrowing in a thin vapour cell, in which sub-Doppler spectral lineshapes are observed under a normal irradiation for a l/2 thickness, is generalized to two-photon spectroscopy. Only the sum of the two wave vectors must be normal to the cell, making the two-photon scheme highly versatile. A comparison is provided between the Dicke narrowing with copropagating fields, and the residual Doppler-broadening occurring with counterpropagating geometries. The experimental feasibility is discussed on the basis of a first observation of a two-photon resonance in a 300 nm-thick Cs cell. Extension to the Raman situation is finally considered

Infiltrating a thin or single layer opal with an atomic vapour: sub-doppler signals and crystal optics

Artificial thin glass opals can be infiltrated with a resonant alkali-metal vapour, providing novel types of hybrid systems. The reflection at the interface between the substrate and the opal yields a resonant signal, which exhibits sub-Doppler structures in linear spectroscopy for a range of oblique incidences. This result is suspected to originate in an effect of the three-dimensional confinement of the vapour in the opal interstices. It is here extended to a situation where the opal is limited to a few or even a single layer opal film, which is a kind of bidimensional grating. We have developed a flexible one-dimensional layered optical model, well suited for a Langmuir-Blodgett opal. Once extended to the case of a resonant infiltration, the model reproduces quick variations of the lineshape with incidence angle or polarization. Alternately, for an opal limited to a single layer of identical spheres, a three-dimensional numerical calculation was developed. It predicts crystalline anisotropy, which is demonstrated through diffraction on an empty opal made of a single-layer of polystyrene spheres.Comment: to appear in Europhysics Letters, Special Issue (Proceedings of META 14-Singapore May 2014

EXTRA SUB-DOPPLER LINES IN THE VICINITY OF THE THIRD RESONANCE 6S-8P OF ATOMIC Cs ATTRIBUTED TO OPTICALLY INDUCED Cs DIMERS

International audienceWe report on the observation of extra sub-Doppler lines in a saturated absorption experiment when exploring the vicinity of the 6S1/2 8P3/2 transition of Cs ( = 388 nm). These extra lines are observed only under a relatively strong irradiation of both the pump and the probe beams. Extra narrow lines are also observed in co-propagating nonlinear spectroscopy, and around the lines of the V-type three-level system 8P3/2 - 6S1/2 - 8P1/2 (1 = 388 nm, 2 = 389 nm). We attribute theses extra-lines to a probing of high-lying molecular caesium, produced as a result of the optical excitation of Cs atoms, as the low Cs atom density ( 1012cm-3) is unable to populate significantly the dimer states in the condition of thermal equilibrium

Laser spectroscopy with nanometric gas cells : distance dependence of atom-surface interaction and collisions under confinement

The high sensitivity of Laser Spectroscopy has made possible the exploration of atomic resonances in newly designed "nanometric" gas cells, whose local thickness varies from 20nm to more than 1000 nm. Following the initial observation of the optical analogous of the coherent Dicke microwave narrowing, the newest prospects include the exploration of long-range atom surface van der Waals interaction with spatial resolution in an unprecedented range of distances, modification of atom dielectric resonant coupling under the influence of the coupling between the two neighbouring dielectric media, and even the possible modification of interatomic collisions processes under the effect of confinement