Metastability exchange optical pumping of helium-3 at high pressures and 1.5 T:: Comparison of two optical pumping transitions

At low magnetic field, metastability exchange optical pumping of helium-3 is known to provide high nuclear polarizations for pressures around 1 mbar. In a recent paper, we demonstrated that operating at 1.5 T can significantly improve the results of metastability exchange optical pumping at high pressures. Here, we compare the performances of two different optical pumping lines at 1.5 T and show that either the achieved nuclear polarization or the production rate can be optimized.