A lifetimes technique that is readily applicable to neutral and singly ionised atoms of a wide range of elements, including the highly refractory elements, is reviewed. With this technique an atomic vapour of the element under study is generated by cathodic sputtering in a low pressure rare-gas discharge and fluorescence decay signals emitted by the vapour following pulsed laser excitation are recorded directly in a fast transient digitiser. Theoretical expressions are presented for the form of the time-resolved fluor~scence signal appropriate to the collisional environment of a rare-gas sputtering discharge. A summary is given of the atomic systems studied to date using this technique, and some new results for Sm and Ba are compared with recently reported results for these elements.
Some Recent Developments in Atomic Lifetime Determinations