S. Burcin Bayram

High-resolution laser spectroscopy of the hyperfine structure of high-lying levels of Nb i

High-resolution laser spectroscopy techniques have been applied in the wavelength range between 645 and 675 nm to measure the hyperfine structure (hfs) of high-lying levels of atomic niobium. Using Doppler-limited optogalvanic spectroscopy 20 well-resolved spectra were measured and 10 spectra using Doppler-reduced saturation absorption spectroscopy technique. We have precisely determined the magnetic dipole hfs constants A of 42 levels and electric quadrupole hfs constants B of 15 levels. For the first time 17 A constants and 5 B constants were measured.

Characteristics of a high-power broad-area laser operating in a passively stabilized external cavity.

We narrowed the spectral bandwidth of our 2 W broad-area laser to 8+/-1 GHz with a coarse tunability of 12 nm centered near 790 nm in an external cavity. Our passively stabilized external cavity was designed for use with high-power semiconductor lasers. The cavity length and mount are modular with a fixed pivot point so that the optical elements can be changed to access a broad frequency spectrum and enable multiple applications. The bandwidth was observed to be dependent on the multimode transverse structure of the laser.