LASER-DRIVEN SOURCE OF SPIN-POLARIZED ATOMIC-HYDROGEN AND DEUTERIUM

A laser-driven source of spin-polarized hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) that relies on the technique of optical pumping spin exchange has been constructed. In this source, H or D atoms and potassium atoms flow continuously through a drifilm-coated spin-exchange cell where potassium atoms are optically pumped with circularly-polarized laser light in a high magnetic field. The H or D atoms become polarized through spin-exchange collisions with polarized potassium atoms. High electron polarization(approximate to 80%) has been measured for H and D atoms at flow rates approximate to 2 x 10(17) atoms/s. Lower polarization values are measured for flow rates exceeding 1 X 10(18) atoms/s. In this paper, we describe the performance of the laser-driven source as a function of H and D atomic flow rate, magnetic field strength, alkali density and pump-laser power. Polarization measurements as a function of flow rate and magnetic field suggest that, despite a high magnetic field, atoms within the optical-pumping spin-exchange apparatus evolve to spin-temperature equilibrium which results in direct polarization of the H and D nuclei.