Laser cooling of a solid by 65K starting from room temperature.
In vacuo laser cooling of a solid from 301 to 236 K has been demonstrated. The sample consists of a cladded, multimode optical fiber fabricated from the fluorozirconate glass ZBLANP; the fiber's waveguiding core is doped with 1 wt. % Yb(3+) ions. Cooling of the host glass results from anti-Stokes fluorescence of Yb(3+) following optical pumping in the long-wavelength tail of the ion's absorption spectrum (lambda=1015nm) . Measurement of the time constant for equilibration of the sample temperature is in excellent agreement with an analytic calculation of this quantity.
Gosnell
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