EXTINCTION COEFFICIENT AND SKIN DEPTH OF ALKALI-METALS FROM 10 TO 1000 NM

The alkali metals have often been characterized as being transparent t o optical radiation in the ultraviolet An investigation was performed to evaluate the feasibility of exploiting this so-called transparency phenomenon for laser doppler velocimetry in these metals. The extincti on coefficient, skirt depth and skin depth divided by wavelength were determined from the literature for wavelengths between 10 and 1000 nm. Data is included for lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, an d a sodium-75% potassium alloy. The results show that the skin depths are less than 3 mu m, and the prospects for perfoming liquid metal las er doppler velocimetry are poor. The compilation of the data in one do cument and in a common format may be useful to other researchers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.