Population of the metastable state of Yb I by an electric discharge

An atomic beam oven of a discharge type is constructed and the performance in populating a metastable state of Yb I is examined. The relative populations of the ground state 4 f 14 6 s 21 S 0 and the metastable state 4 f 13 5 d 6 s 2 (7/2, 3/2) 5 of Yb I are measured for the first time by the laser-induced fluorescence method. It is found that the population of the metastable state increases with the discharge current and that of the ground state decreases to 30%. The method is also applicable for other elements.