Due to the similar physical and chemical properties, isotopes are usually hard to separate. On the other hand, the isotope shifts are very well separated in a high-resolution spectrum, making them possible to be addre...Due to the similar physical and chemical properties, isotopes are usually hard to separate. On the other hand, the isotope shifts are very well separated in a high-resolution spectrum, making them possible to be addressed individually by lasers, thus separated. Here we report such an isotope separation experiment with Potassium atoms. The isotopes are independently optical pumped to the desired spin states, and then separated with a Stern–Gerlach scheme. A micro-capillary oven is used to collimate the atomic beam, and a Halbach-type magnet array is used to deflect the desired atoms. Finally, the 40K is enriched by two orders of magnitude. This magneto–optical combined method provides an effective way to separate isotopes and can be extended to other elements if the relevant optical pumping scheme is feasible.展开更多
基金We acknowledge the support from the National Key R&D Program of China under Grant No.2018YFA0307200the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.12074337+2 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province under Grant Nos.LR21A040002 and LZ18A040001Zhejiang Province Plan for Science and Technology No.2020C01019the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant Nos.2020XZZX002-05 and 2021FZZX001-02.
文摘Due to the similar physical and chemical properties, isotopes are usually hard to separate. On the other hand, the isotope shifts are very well separated in a high-resolution spectrum, making them possible to be addressed individually by lasers, thus separated. Here we report such an isotope separation experiment with Potassium atoms. The isotopes are independently optical pumped to the desired spin states, and then separated with a Stern–Gerlach scheme. A micro-capillary oven is used to collimate the atomic beam, and a Halbach-type magnet array is used to deflect the desired atoms. Finally, the 40K is enriched by two orders of magnitude. This magneto–optical combined method provides an effective way to separate isotopes and can be extended to other elements if the relevant optical pumping scheme is feasible.
