Enhanced efficiency in separation of Rb isotopes by light-induced drift with the use of a diode laser with relaxation sidebands

Abstract
An AlGaAs diode laser oscillating in a single Fabry–Perot mode with strong relaxation sidebands is observed to separate the two naturally occurring isotopes of rubidium by means of light-induced drift at much lower powers than has been reported with a single-mode ring dye laser. The sideband frequency displacement is approximately equal to the ground-state hyperfine splitting, so that optical hyperfine pumping is largely eliminated.