Polarized 3He via Metastability Exchange Optical Pumping Development at UTK

Polarized Helium-3 plays an important role as an effective nuclear polarized target for neutron spin studies, which are crucial for understanding quark spin decomposition through scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab. Metastability Exchange Optical Pumping (MEOP) is a technique whose main advantage is a high polarization target at a high magnetic field. This technique is achieved through the use of a 1083 nm class 4 laser, a magnetic field, and the application of RF excitation on a Helium-3 cell. This study utilizes MEOP to optimize the nuclear polarization of a Helium-3 cell. It is important for next generation spin experiments where detectors will operate under high magnetic fields, such as CLAS12 at Jefferson Lab or EIC. We have achieved a 70% polarization signal through this method on a sealed cell and are currently in the process of optimizing for higher signals.