Laser separation of zirconium isotopes

The authors performed high-resolution fluorescence spectroscopy with a ring dye laser on most of the transitions from the a/sup 3/Fj levels that are accessible to copper vapor-pumped dye lasers to obtain the hyperfine constants of the excited levels, and to obtain the isotope shifts. The authors present details of a complete photoionization scheme based on these transitions and an analysis of transitions accessible to XeCl-pumped dye lasers. They also provide estimates of design requirements for an entire zirconium AVLIS process including the atomic source, laser powers, and throughput