A new method for the production of atomic beams of highly refractory elements and first atomic beam magnetic resonances in Ta181

A new universal method for the production of atomic beams of highly refractory elements has been developed. The beams of free atoms are produced by locally heating a small area on a target consisting of the material to be evaporated. The local heating is achieved via the focussed electron beam of a commercial electron gun. The atomic beams so obtained are suitable for studying hyperfine structures by the atomic beam magnetic resonance method. The first observedrf resonances in the ground state⁴ F _3/2 and the first excited state⁴ F _5/2 of Ta¹⁸¹ are reported.