Candlestick oven with a silica wick provides an intense collimated cesium atomic beam

Abstract

This article shows that readily available glass and silica fibers and braids are suitable capillary structure for recirculating ovens, such as candlestick ovens, becoming then an alternative wick material to conventional metal based capillary structures. In order to study wettability and capillarity of metallic liquid cesium on borosilicate and silica microstructures, samples were selected, prepared, and tested experimentally. The contact angle of cesium on silica glass was roughly measured: theta = 35 degrees - 10 degrees. A commercially available silica braid was then introduced inside a candlestick oven to transfer the metallic liquid cesium from the cold reservoir to the hot emission point of the candlestick. A collimated cesium atomic beam of intensity of 2 x 10(16) at./s sr was obtained, stable and reproducible. Furthermore, this modified ovenis easy to handle daily.