EVANESCENT LIGHT-ATOM INTERACTION DETECTED BY OPTOGALVANIC EFFECT

An evanescent light penetrating an atomic vapour near a dielectric sur face could be a probe for many atom-boundary phenomena. We show the po ssibility of very sensitive detection of the resonant atom-light inter action near the surface by using the optogalvanic effect for an evanes cent wave. We observe a narrowing of the profile of the detected atomi c line, sold we point out some properties of the optogalvanic effect i n the evanescent wave. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reser ved.