Spectroscopic detection of atom-surface interactions in an atomic vapour layer with nanoscale thickness

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a spectroscopic method to analyze atom-surface interactions in nanoscale atomic vapor layers by examining resonance line shapes affected by various broadening effects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spectroscopic approach to detect and analyze atom-surface interactions in ultra-thin atomic vapor layers.

Findings

Resonance line shapes are influenced by Dicke narrowing, self-broadening, and atom-surface interactions.

Fitting the line shape to a model allows extraction of atom-surface interaction information.

The method provides a new way to study surface effects at the nanoscale.

Abstract

We measure the resonance line shape of atomic vapor layers with nanoscale thickness confined between two sapphire windows. The measurement is performed by scanning a probe laser through resonance and collecting the scattered light. The line shape is dominated by the effects of Dicke narrowing, self-broadening, and atom-surface interactions. By fitting the measured line shape to a simple model we discuss the possibility to extract information about the atom-surface interaction.