Orientation of Atoms by Collisions with Inclined Surfaces

Abstract

We have measured large orientations for Ar II states excited by 300-keV ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{+}$ impact on solid Cu surfaces at grazing incidence. We report circulary polarized light fractions of up to 76% and interpret the excitation mechanism as an orbital-angular-momentum effect. As an application of this new excitation scheme, a zero-field level-crossing experiment is presented.