Atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics is an important part of the undergraduate physics laboratory experience. AMO physics has the advantage over many other fields of current research of being accessible to undergraduates both theoretically and experimentally. The objective of the program here is to establish an undergraduate laboratory in this field.To develop a strong undergraduate laboratory program in AMO physics, several pieces of capital equipment and ancillary hardware are used. The first major piece of equipment is a one-meter monochrometer, a device with innumerable uses in classical spectroscopy. It is used to introduce students to classical spectroscopic measurements. Second, two laser systems are used, one a pulsed laser system based on Nd:YAG pumped dye lasers, and the other a continuous wave semiconductor diode laser for use in modern atomic and molecular spectroscopy. Students can investigate both pulsed and cw spectroscopy to determine the fundamental relationship between the time and frequency domains.The spectroscopy equipment provides students with an opportunity to learn general principles of experimentation as well as introduce them to specific atomic phenomena.
