Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Hyperpolarized Xenon for NMR and MRI Applications
Published on: September 6, 2012
Thermal beam of metastable krypton atoms produced by optical excitation
1Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ding@anl.gov
Abstract:
A room-temperature beam of krypton atoms in the metastable 5s[3/2]2 level is demonstrated via an optical excitation method. A Kr-discharge lamp is used to produce vacuum ultraviolet photons at 124 nm for the first-step excitation from the ground level 4p6 1S0 to the 5s[3/2]1 level. An 819 nm Ti:sapphire laser is used for the second-step excitation from 5s[3/2]1 to 5s[3/2]2 followed by a spontaneous decay to the 5s[3/2]2 metastable level. A metastable atomic beam with an angular flux density of 3 x 10(14) s(-1) sr(-1) is achieved at the total gas flow rate of 0.01 cm3/s at STP (or 3 x 10(17) at./s). The dependences of the flux on the gas flow rate, laser power, and lamp parameters are investigated.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Overview
Noble Gases
The elements in group 18 are noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon). They earned the name “noble” because they were assumed to be nonreactive since they have filled valence shells. In 1962, Dr. Neil Bartlett at the University of British Columbia proved this assumption to be false.
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Lab
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes

