THE RELAXATION-OSCILLATOR AS A RESONANCE PHOTON DETECTOR

A commercially available neon indicator lamp in a Relaxation Oscillato r (RO) configuration has been demonstrated to be capable of detecting light intensities of the order of nanowatts under ambient light condit ions with a subpicometer spectral resolution. The RO has also been sho wn as capable of acting as a wireless light switch with light intensit ies of the order of 1 mu W. Temporal excitation studies have also show n the predominant mechanism describing the observed frequency changes in the RO to be a result of laser perturbation of the neon lamp when i t is in the Townsend-discharge region and not in the abnormal glow.