Realization of a 16 kV/8 cm pulsed longitudinal electric field for E-field-controlled laser excitation of dense Cs vapour

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Abstract
The construction of a caesium cell and a pulsed HV generator to produce a longitudinal E field of 2 kV cm-1 in the presence of Cs vapour at a density of 2*1014 at cm-3 along an 8 cm long, 3 mm wide interaction region illuminated by an energetic (a few mJ in 17 ns) pump laser beam is described. It is observed that (dry) Cs vapour at 150 degrees C makes glass conductive, which might result in important distortions of the field map. Electrode configurations that solve this problem are demonstrated. A specially developed HV pulse generator with eight 2 kV outputs mounted in series is presented together with a mechanical HV switch that allows the polarity to be reversed in less than 80 ms. Results are presented on the E-field-controlled laser excitation of the forbidden 6S-7S Cs transition.