Precise lifetime determination of the metastable 3d2D5/2 level in Ca+ by "electron shelving"

摘要: Ca+ ions confined as a cloud in Paul trap were excited and cooled by radiation from two lasers, tuned to the 4s2S1/2 − 4p2P1/2 3d2D3/2 transitions. The strong fluorescence of these lines disappears when we excite simultaneously third laser on 4p2P3/2 line because population trapping metastable 3d2D5/2 state, into which level decays. From time dependence after blocking determined lifetime level. Our result τ = 1064(17) ms improves earlier results agrees with value recently computed Liaw using Brueckner approximation.