Laser spectroscopy on a ''shoestring''

The advent of tunable lasers has had a profound influence on both experimental and theoretical physics. Unfortunately, since these laser systems are typically hazardous and expensive, the physics student at the undergraduate or first-year graduate level has no real familiarity with their application in modern physics; and thus cannot fully appreciate their significance. Tunable single mode laser diodes, however, may offer a remedy to this situation. To demonstrate their applicability, we have designed a relatively simple and inexpensive experiment of laser diode spectroscopy in an atomic beam which illustrates the effect of hyperfine structure and the isotope shift in the rubidium D1 transition (52S/sub 1/2/-52P/sub 1/2/). Furthermore, this experiment demonstrates the possibility of investigating basic physics without major expenditures for laser systems and laboratory facilities