Joseph Piriano

PHYS 506
4/15/2022

Saturation Absorption in Rb
Abstract

In this lab we measure the hyper fine splitting in the 5p3/2 state for 85Rb and 87Rb by using

the absorption light from a variable frequency laser split into two beams, one of which is

propagated in the opposite direction to counter act the doppler effect. Through this process we

were able to measure the energy gap of 87Rb to be 6.56*109 Hz and the energy gap 3*109 Hz for
85
Rb.

Introduction

The key to this lab is to fully understand the path of the laser, what it’s doing

at each point and what characteristics the beam has at each of these points. When a

beam is passed through a vapor, the protons that make up the beam are then

resonantly scattered, these removed protons then all appear at different angles. By

relating this absorption to a function of photon energy we are able to amp out the
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PHYS 506
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excited level structure of absorbing rubidium, which can be seen below in figure 1.

This shows us that we should see four absorption peaks when our laser is in

the vicinity of 780.23 nm.

Theoretical Explanation

Atomic spectral lines are caused by the transitions of atoms between energy levels. To

transition into a higher level an atom will absorb radiation at a frequency similar to the difference

of energy between the two levels. This decrease of radiation can be detected which is what gives
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PHYS 506
4/15/2022

us our data presented on our oscilloscope. The width of these line can be caused by a few

phenomena one of which being naturally, which can be expressed through Heisenberg’s

uncertainty principle in equation 1

Where ∆v is the naturally occurring linewidth and τ is the lifetime of the excited state. Another

cause of this broadening linewidth is doppler broadening which is due to the Doppler shift

in its absorbed radiation. This causes the atoms to absorb a range of different frequencies

of radiations and spectral lines. The width of these lines at half the maximum amplitude can

be represented by equation 2.

In this equation M is mass, T represents temperature, and V0 is the resonance frequency with

respect to the source of radiation. Doppler broadening is the main source of broadening in this

experiment.

In order to move forward we need to take a glimpse into the world of quantum mechanics,

specifically in reference to the Bohr model. In the model, electrons orbit the nucleus and can

only occupy specific energy levels. These orbits can be described by quantum numbers, the

higher the number n, the higher the energy and the larger the orbit. This process causes other

smaller splitting from the interactions between the magnetic moments of the electron and
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PHYS 506
4/15/2022

nucleus. From these interactions we can formulate the equation F = J+I. The hyperfine levels pf

Rb can be calculated using equation 3.

Where V is the frequency related to the energy of the n2S+1 L state, I represents the nuclear angular

momentum, J is the ekectron total angular momentum, while A and B are constants of the specific

states. C is then defined through Equation 4.

F in this equation represents the total angular momentum, while J and I remain the same from equation

4. In our case it is very clear that this Doppler Broadening obscures the hyperfine energy levels we are

trying to measure through this experiment. In order to overcome this we will need to use saturated

absortions spectroscopy.

Experiment

The first thing to when starting this experiment is to turn on the laser as soon as you plan

to start taking data as it can take up to twenty minutes to warm up. Once its warmed up you can

fully turn it on while setting the current to 60 mA and the voltage to 40 V. The next step is to

make sure that the laser is running through the set up as it should take the IR card and trace the

path of the laser shown below in figure 2

 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
4/15/2022

Figure 2
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
4/15/2022

Adjust any mirrors that need be if the beam doesn’t line up just right. Each detector sends their

readings through an amplifier box and then straight to the oscilloscope. In order to read this data,

the oscilloscope needs to be in YT mode and set to a slow sweep speed. Now set the function

generator to scan a triangle wave at 3 Hz and double check the reading is going to the “laser

frequency” input through the attenuator box. This voltage produced by the generator combined

with the one set on the controller box determines the angle of grating inside the laser which is

directly related to the frequency of the laser. Set the function generator to scan from 0V to 10V,

adjust the amplifiers so that you’re able to obtain the signal from the photo detectors and adjust

the DC offset on the laser box until you’re able to find the absorption features.

The next step is to ensure that you have correctly calibrated the scale in order to correctly

plot our data. To do this we will use a Michelson Interferometer, as seen in figure 2. Pass the

laser signal from detector three through one channel of the amplifier and then adjust the mirrors

of the interferometer until both beams hit the center hole on detector three. These two signals

should produce an interference oscillation as the wavelength is swept. The frequency separation

of the peaks produced can be represented by c/2(L2-L1), where L1 and L2 are the different

distances from the half-silvered mirror to the reflecting mirrors on the two arms of the

interferometer. Now put the oscilloscope in XY mode with the function generator into X and

1v/division. Then calibrate the X scale in terms of the frequency. This will allow us to find the

fringe spectrum.

Now we can finally move onto the measuring of the ground state splitting found in these

two isotopes. To do this set the function generator voltages to obtain a spectrum in detector two.

Using a 4 Hz sweep we were able to make a sweep that allows us to observe this spectrum.
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PHYS 506
4/15/2022

Measuring the hyperfine splitting is based on this spectrum. Using the XY scan adjust the

amplifiers until the same signal can be read on both channels. The saturated absorption lines

should appear in the detector two signal. Adjust the can until you can better view the six fine

absorption features. These features will then be used to calculate the hyperfine splitting in the

5p3/2 state of Rb.

Data

Below is the data for the normal structure of 85Rb and 87Rb
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
4/15/2022

The following graph and chart shows are Data for 87Rb

Now we have the following graph and chart which represents our data for the Hyperfine

structure of 85Rb
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
4/15/2022

Error Analysis

The main cause of error in this lab was due to human error in the measurements of L1

and L2, in fact originally our first attempt at measuring these values resulted in an improbable

value for our measured splitting.

Conclusion

In this lab we were able to successfully measure the hyper fine splitting in the 5p3/2 state

for 85Rb and 87Rb by using the absorption light from a variable frequency laser split into two

beams. Through this process we were able to measure the energy gap of 87Rb to be 6.56*109 Hz

and the energy gap 3*109 Hz for 85Rb.

Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
4/15/2022