Cw laser pumping of the 4s2 's0-4s4p 3pj transition of calcium: Study of ionization and absorption line profiles

Experimental results on the ionization of calcium atoms following resonant pumping of the 4s11 S„-4s4p3 P, transition with a cw ring dye laser are reported. Absorption profiles of the 4s2 tS0-4s4p iP1 transition around 6572.78 Â are measured under different conditions of temperature (T) and buffer gas pressure ip) where ionization was observed. Voigt profile fits are seen to adequately describe the observed absorption profiles. The results on collisional widths are in agreement with some previously published measurements. At low buffer gas pressures, collisional widths are found to scale as T0, s.