Analytical detection sensitivity of the laser-probed resonant Voigt effect

Abstract

Analytical detection sensitivity of the resonant magneto-optic effect in the Voigt configuration (transverse magnetic field) was investigated by using a narrow-band tunable dye laser as a light source and sodium atoms in a flame as a sample. The elliptically polarized laser beam was tuned to the sodium D2 line. The signal-to-noise ratio was optimized by adjusting the ellipticity of incident light and the orientation of the polarization analyzer. The observed profiles of the Voigt signal agreed with the theoretical prediction. The detection sensitivity of the Voigt effect was enhanced by a factor of 2 × 102 when compared with the atomic absorption in the same experimental arrangement. The absolute values of the atomic-number density obtained from the Voigt effect and the absorption agreed within the experimental accuracy.