Measurement of Stark Shift of Potassium D Lines

High-resolution atomic-beam laser spectroscopy has been performed to study the Stark effect of K atoms. A compact electrode apparatus has been developed to produce a stable and strong electric field. The Stark shifts of the D1 and D2 lines as well as the splitting of the D2 line have been measured and found to be proportional to the square of the electric field. The scalar polarizability of the D1 line and the scalar and tensor polarizabilities of the D2 line have been determined to be alpha(s) (4p(2)p(1/2)) - (4s(2)S(1/2)) = 81.3 +/- 2.4 kHz/(kV/cm)(2), alpha(s) (4p(2)P(3/2)) - alpha(s) (4s(2)S(1/2)) = 93.0 +/- 2.5 kHz/(kV/cm)(2), and alpha(t) (4p(2)P(3/2)) = -27.6 +/- 0.7 kHZ/(kV/cm)(2), respectively, providing a crosscheck of the previously reported values.