A rich spectrum from potassium vapor on the 42 S 1/2−32 D 5/2 two-photon resonance

A rich emission spectrum in the wavelength range 300–600 nm, including 50 spectral lines, has been observed as a pulsed dye laser is tuned to the 4²S_1/2–3²D_5/2 two-photon resonance in potassium vapor. It is found that many kinds of mechanisms, including energy pooling, harmonic generation, quadrupole radiation, excitation transfer, and multiwave mixing etc., are involved in producing these lines. The process for each spectral line has been identified and is presented in tabular form.This project was supported by National Science Council of R.O.C. under the grant No. NSC 79-0208-M 009-21