Compact magneto-optical trap with a quartz vacuum chamber for miniature gravimeters

Abstract

The realization of a compact magneto-optical trap (MOT) with a quartz vacuum chamber via ultra-low power of a cooling laser is reported. The dependence of the properties of the MOT on key experimental parameters is investigated. The efficiency of capturing atoms of the novel MOT is compared with that of the metal vacuum chamber. The compact quartz vacuum chamber can achieve a maximum rubidium ( 87 R b ) atomic loading rate of about 8 × 10 9 / s with less than 60 mW of the total power of cooling lasers, while the metal chamber obtains the maximum atomic loading rate of about 3 × 10 9 / s with more than 240 mW of the total power of cooling lasers. The compact apparatus avoids undesired effects found in a metal chamber, such as high power consumption and the magnetic-field eddy current effect. This compact MOT is helpful in the design of miniature atomic gravimeters.