Spectroscopic Study of the "Brown" Coating Observed in Mercury rf-Discharge Lamps

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) rf-discharge lamps employed in Hg+ atomic clocks can develop a brown coating. We have performed spectroscopic analyses of the coating in the UV, to study the coatings absorbance at 194 nanometers, which is the wavelength of UV light used in Hg+ atomic clocks for optical pumping and atomic signal monitoring. Our results indicate that the coating is a HgO material, which we believe is embedded in the lamp bulbs glass matrix. The coating can have significant absorption at 194 nanometers, suggesting that further study of the coating is warranted to aid in the development of long-lived Hg+ atomic clocks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 10, 2021
Accession Number
AD1192973

Entities

People

  • Arielle Little
  • Charles M. Klimcak
  • James C. Camparo

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Absorption Spectra
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Atomic Clocks
  • Discharge Lamps
  • Engineering
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Standards
  • Lamps
  • Light Sources
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Optical Materials
  • Optical Pumping
  • Photonics
  • Space Force
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy
  • Standards

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Spectroscopy.
  • Surface Coatings Technology.