title: Atomic mercury vapor inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber.
abstract: We demonstrate high atomic mercury vapor pressure in a kagomé-style hollow-core photonic crystal fiber at room temperature. After a few days of exposure to mercury vapor the fiber is homogeneously filled and the optical depth achieved remains constant. With incoherent optical pumping from the ground state we achieve an optical depth of 114 at the 6(3)P(2) - 6(3)D(3) transition, corresponding to an atomic mercury number density of 6 × 10(10) cm(-3). The use of mercury vapor in quasi one-dimensional confinement may be advantageous compared to chemically more active alkali vapor, while offering strong optical nonlinearities in the ultraviolet region of the optical spectrum.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Vogl
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peuntinger
authors.forename: Nicolas Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Joly
authors.forename: Philip St J
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marquardt
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leuchs
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry*; D055100:Optical Fibers; D017785:Photons; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury