Figure 1
Level Scheme and Experimental Setup. (a) the involved atomic levels as derived from the NIST database 29. The excitation from the 32S → 32P state is probed, whereas the 819 nm laser should couple the 32P state to a higher P state. The intermediate D state should help for the excitation into the higher state. (b) experimental configuration. Two counter propagating lasers excite the sodium atoms in the atomic vapor. To note is that the infrared laser is used in an extremely high power regime. (c) Photograph of the experimental setup. To note: To increase the probe beam quality, the light is mode-filtered by an optical fiber. The 819 nm infrared-laser is directly supplied from the Ti:Sa laser.
