Eur. Phys. J. D 37, 23-28 (2006)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00261-y

Measurement of the photoionization cross-section of the 3p ²P_1/2,3/2 excited levels of sodium

Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan

Corresponding author: ^a baig@qau.edu.pk

Received: 6 January 2005
Revised: 18 May 2005
Published online: 27 September 2005

Abstract

The photoionization cross-section and number density of the 3p ²P_1/2,3/2 excited levels of sodium have been measured as a function of the laser energy using two-step laser excitation in conjunction with a thermionic diode working in the space charge limited mode. Employing the saturation technique, the cross-sections for the 3p ²P_1/2 and 3p ²P_3/2 levels are determined as 2.16 (43) Mb and 3.74 (74) Mb respectively.