Measurement of the photoionization cross section of the (2p)5(3p) 3D3 state of neon

We report a new measurement of the photoionization cross section for the (2p)(3p)5 D33 state of neon at the wavelengths of 351 and 364nm . These data were obtained by monitoring the decay of the fluorescence of atoms trapped in a magneto-optical atom trap under the presence of a photoionizing laser, a technique developed by Dinneen [Opt. Lett. 17, 1706 (1992)]. We obtain absolute photoionization cross sections of 2.05±0.25×10-18cm2 at λ=351nm and 2.15±0.25×10-18cm2 at λ=364nm , an improvement in accuracy of a factor of 4 over previously published values. These new values are not consistent with published theoretical data.