Optical lifetime measurements using a positive ion van de graaff accelerator.
A system for direct observation of excited state optical mean lives using the delayed coincidence counting technique is described. The system uses a pulsed proton beam for excitation, a high speed time-to-amplitude converter and an on-line digital computer for data reduction. Mean lives longer than 1 nsec can be measured. Preliminary measurements on the 3(1)p, 4(3)S, and 4(1)D levels of helium and several vibrational bands of N(2) are presented to illustrate the capabilities of the system.
Nichols
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Wilson
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