Construction of a compact³He polarizing facility

Abstract

In this paper we present concepts, developed to construct a compact 3He polarizing facility as well as first results of their realization. The apparatus, which is currently in the state of construction, is based on the method of metastability exchange optical pumping (MEOP). Contrary to the present apparatus at the university of Mainz, which serves as central polarizing facility, the compact polarizer is designed to serve as local polarizing facility in both basic research and medical application. With the new polarizer we aim to reach polarization degrees of P > 65% at a flux of several standard liters per hour.