OPTICAL-PUMPING WITH LASER-INDUCED-FLUORESCENCE

We describe a new procedure for optical pumping that is based on laser -induced fluorescence (LIF). The procedure is demonstrated by opticall y exciting a sample of Rb-85 atoms, which then creates a population im balance between the ground state hyperfine levels of Rb-87 by ''LIF de population pumping''. Though optical pumping with this technique incre ases the intensity dependent light-shift coefficient (i.e., ac Stark s hift) of the Rb-87 0-0 hyperfine transition, it reduces the frequency dependent light-shift coefficient by at least an order of magnitude. S ince the stabilization of the diode laser wavelength is a significant challenge in the development of laser-pumped gas-cell atomic clocks, i t is anticipated that optical pumping with LIF will be of benefit to a tomic clock technology.