[Spectroscopy study of rubidium spectrum lamps]

Rubidium spectral lamp is one of the critical parts in a rubidium atomic frequency standard (RAFS). The light emitted from the spectral lamp contains two components, one is the useful component, which contributes to the atomic transition signal, and the other is the useless component, which acts only as the light noise. In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the frequency locking loop of a RAFS, and therefore to obtain a highly stable RAFS, it's very important to enhance the useful light component and suppress the useless component. In the present work the light spectra of the three commonly used rubidium spectrum lamps with bulbs separately filled with buffer gases argon, krypton and xenon were obtained by means of a monochromator. The spectra were analyzed and the methods to enhance useful light intensity and reduce useless light intensity were discussed. Results showed that the useful light intensity strongly depends on the types of buffer gases and the bulb temperature. In the whole range of bulb temperature, the Xe lamp had the highest useful light intensity among the three lamps. The Kr lamp showed a higher useful light intensity than the Ar lamp at low bulb temperature, while at high bulb temperature the Ar lamp showed a higher useful light intensity than the Kr lamp. Analysis also indicates that the light noise of a rubidium spectrum lamp can be effectively minimized by adopting suitable light filtering technique.