Eur. Phys. J. D 47, 1-5 (2008)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2008-00015-5

Light-induced sodium desorption from paraffin film

¹ Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Area della Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo, 56123 Pisa, Italy

Corresponding author: ^a silvia@ipcf.cnr.it

Received: 8 August 2007
Revised: 6 December 2007
Published online: 30 January 2008

Abstract

Sodium photoejection from a paraffin coated cell has been observed and analyzed in detail. The effect has been detected by observing the fluorescence induced by a cw dye laser. A maximum Na density of about 2.9 ×10⁸ atoms/cm³ was obtained by shining the cell with 1.05 W Ar⁺ laser green light. A progressive slowing of the dynamics of the process is reported, probably due to a change in the chemical rearrangement of the Na atoms in the coating under intense light exposure. This aging effect represents a limitation in the practical application of this kind of materials.