Stark Broadening of the Cesium 5D-10F Line Shape

Abstract

Pump modulated laser absorption spectroscopy was used to measure the cesium 5 2 D 5/2 →10 2 F 5/2,7/2 line shape. Alkali density in an optically pumped low pressure cell was increased from 0.5 to 85×10 12 cm −3 , resulting in a factor of 200 increase in Lorentzian width due to Stark broadening (2.76GHz/10 12 cm −3 ). The observed red shift is consistent with literature, and the shift-to-width ratio δ / γ =−0.356±0.015 informs an electron temperature of 1820±100K. A linear trend between alkali density and electron density is seen, suggesting that electron impact is the primary plasma production mechanism. A maximum ionized concentration of 28% was observed.