Effects of velocity changing collisions on saturated absorption of excited neon atoms Y.Ohta, T.Hanaoka, M.Hasuo and T.Fujimoto Department of Engineering Physics and Mechanics, Kyoto University We have observed saturated absorption spectra of excited neon atoms in the 2p^{5}3p configuration with an external-cavity controlled single-mode diode laser. An analysis with a simple rate equation suggests the importance of the velocity changing collisions (VCC) in determining the velocity distribution of the atoms in the discharge cell.