A factor 1600 increase in neutral atomic beam intensity using laser cooling

Using a three-step transverse cooling scheme, a strongly diverging flow of metastable Ne*(/sup 3/P/sub 2/) atoms is compressed into a small diameter (3 mm), well-collimated (1 mrad) atomic beam, using only 200 mW total laser power. This extremely valuable technique for frequency standard applications is applicable to many different atomic systems.<
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