No Arabic abstract
In the course of investigations of thermal neutron detection based on mixtures of $^{10}$BF$_3$ with other gases, knowledge was required of the photoabsorption cross sections of $^{10}$BF$_3$ for wavelengths between 135 and 205 nm. Large discrepancies in the values reported in existing literature led to the absolute measurements reported in this communication. The measurements were made at the SURF III synchrotron radiation facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The measured absorption cross sections vary from 10$^{-20}$ cm$^2$ at 135 nm to less than 10$^{-21}$ cm$^2$ in the region from 165 to 205 nm. Three previously unreported absorption features with resolvable structure were found in the regions 135 to 145 nm, 150 to 165 nm and 190 to 205 nm. Quantum mechanical calculations, using the TD-B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ variant of time-dependent density functional theory implemented in Gaussian 09, suggest that the observed absorption features arise from symmetry-changing adiabatic transitions.
VUV radiation around 159 nm is obtained toward direct excitation of a single trapped $^{115}$In$^{+}$ ion. An efficient fluoride-based VUV output-coupler is employed for intracavity high-harmonic generation of a Ti:S oscillator. Using this coupler, where we measured its reflectance to be about 90%, an average power reaching $6.4,mu$W is coupled out from a modest fundamental power of 650 mW. When a single comb component out of $1.9times10^{5}$ teeth is resonant to the atomic transition, hundreds of fluorescence photons per second will be detectable under a realistic condition.
The remarkable progress in the field of laser spectroscopy induced by the invention of the frequency-comb laser has enabled many new high-precision tests of fundamental theory and searches for new physics. Extending frequency-comb based spectroscopy techniques to the vacuum (VUV) and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range would enable measurements in e.g. heavier hydrogen-like systems and open up new possibilities for tests of quantum electrodynamics and measurements of fundamental constants. The main approaches rely on high-harmonic generation (HHG), which is known to induce spurious phase shifts from plasma formation. After our initial report (Physical Review Letters 123, 143001 (2019)), we give a detailed account of how the Ramsey-comb technique is used to probe the plasma dynamics with high precision, and enables accurate spectroscopy in the VUV. A series of Ramsey fringes is recorded to track the phase evolution of a superposition state in xenon atoms, excited by two up-converted frequency-comb pulses. Phase shifts of up to 1 rad induced by HHG were observed at ns timescales and with mrad-level accuracy at $110$ nm. Such phase shifts could be reduced to a negligible level, enabling us to measure the $5p^6 rightarrow 5p^5 8s~^2[3/2]_1$ transition frequency in $^{132}Xe$ at 110 nm (seventh harmonic) with sub-MHz accuracy. The obtained value is $10^4$ times more precise than the previous determination and the fractional accuracy of $2.3 times 10^{-10}$ is $3.6$ times better than the previous best spectroscopic measurement using HHG. The isotope shifts between $^{132}Xe$ and two other isotopes were determined with an accuracy of $420$ kHz. The method can be readily extended to achieve kHz-level accuracy, e.g. to measure the $1S-2S$ transition in $He^+$. Therefore, the Ramsey-comb method shows great promise for high-precision spectroscopy of targets requiring VUV and XUV wavelengths.
Non-thermal desorption from icy grains containing H$_2$CO has been invoked to explain the observed H$_2$CO gas phase abundances in ProtoPlanetary Disks (PPDs) and Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). Photodesorption is thought to play a key role, however no absolute measurement of the photodesorption from H$_2$CO ices were performed up to now, so that a default value is used in the current astrophysical models. As photodesorption yields differ from one molecule to the other, it is crucial to experimentally investigate photodesorption from H$_2$CO ices. We measured absolute wavelength-resolved photodesorption yields from pure H$_2$CO ices, H$_2$CO on top of a CO ice (H$_2$CO/CO), and H$_2$CO mixed with CO ice (H$_2$CO:CO) irradiated in the Vacuum UltraViolet (VUV) range (7-13.6~eV). Photodesorption from a pure H$_2$CO ice releases H$_2$CO in the gas phase, but also fragments, such as CO and H$_2$. Energy-resolved photodesorption spectra, coupled with InfraRed (IR) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) diagnostics, showed the important role played by photodissociation and allowed to discuss photodesorption mechanisms. For the release of H$_2$CO in the gas phase, they include Desorption Induced by Electronic Transitions (DIET), indirect DIET through CO-induced desorption of H$_2$CO and photochemical desorption. We found that H$_2$CO photodesorbs with an average efficiency of $sim 4-10 times 10^{-4}$ molecule/photon, in various astrophysical environments. H$_2$CO and CO photodesorption yields and photodesorption mechanisms, involving photofragmentation of H$_2$CO, can be implemented in astrochemical codes. The effects of photodesorption on gas/solid abundances of H$_2$CO and all linked species from CO to Complex Organic Molecules (COMs), and on the H$_2$CO snowline location, are now on the verge of being unravelled.
A custom, flat field, extreme ultraviolet EUV spectrometer built specifically for use with low power light sources that operate under ultrahigh vacuum conditions is reported. The spectral range of the spectrometer extends from 4 nm to 40 nm. The instrument optimizes the light gathering power and signal to noise ratio while achieving good resolution. A detailed description of the spectrometer and design considerations are presented, as well as a novel procedure that could be used to obtain a synthetic wavelength calibration with the aid of only a single known spectral feature. This synthetic wavelength calibration is compared to a standard wavelength calibration obtained from previously reported spectral lines of Xe, Ar and Ne ions recorded with this spectrometer.
Characterization of the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) reflectance of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) is important for large-scale SiPM-based photodetector systems. We report the angular dependence of the specular reflectance in a vacuum of SiPMs manufactured by Fondazionc Bruno Kessler (FBK) and Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) over wavelengths ranging from 120 nm to 280 nm. Refractive index and extinction coefficient of the thin silicon-dioxide film deposited on the surface of the FBK SiPMs are derived from reflectance data of a FBK silicon wafer with the same deposited oxide film as SiPMs. The diffuse reflectance of SiPMs is also measured at 193 nm. We use the VUV spectral dependence of the optical constants to predict the reflectance of the FBK silicon wafer and FBK SiPMs in liquid xenon.