RESONANCE BROADENING MEASUREMENTS OF ATOMIC OXYGEN AT 130 NM

Absorption line profiles have been measured for atomic oxygen at 130.4 9 nm under conditions dominated by resonance broadening. Atomic sample s are prepared by dissociating oxygen in a shock tube, and are probed by tunable vacuum u.v. light generated with a Raman-shifted excimer la ser. Linewidths calculated with approximate theoretical models are con sistent with the current measurements, and limitations of these models are discussed by references to previously reported measurements in no ble gases and metallic vapors. To our knowledge, these are the first r esonance broadening measurements of atoms which are normally found in diatomics, and thus, have different electron configurations from those studied previously. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.