Abstract
A commercially available neon indicator lamp in a Relaxation Oscillator (RO) configuration has been demonstrated to be capable of detecting light intensities of the order of nanowatts under ambient light conditions with a subpicometer spectral resolution. The RO has also been shown as capable of acting as a wireless light switch with light intensities of the order of 1 µW. Temporal excitation studies have also shown the predominant mechanism describing the observed frequency changes in the RO to be a result of laser perturbation of the neon lamp when it is in the Townsend-discharge region and not in the abnormal glow.
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Petrucci, G.A., Winefordner, J.D. & Omenetto, N. The relaxation oscillator as a resonance photon detector. Appl. Phys. B 62, 457–464 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081044
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081044