ALKALI METAL HYBRID SPIN-EXCHANGE OPTICAL PUMPING

摘要

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for hyperpolarizing anoble gas by spin-exchange optical pumping which includes a polarization cellcontaining the noble gas, a primary alkali metal and an auxiliary alkalimetal. Thepolarization cell is illuminated with radiation to optically polarize theprimary alkalimetal. This enables spin-exchange interaction between the primary alkalimetal, theauxiliary alkali metal and the noble gas resulting in a hyperpolarized noblegas.