Cold Atomic Beam Research Articles

A Zeeman slower design with permanent magnets in a Halbach configuration

We describe a simple Zeeman slower design using permanent magnets. Contrary to common wire-wound setups, no electric power and water cooling are required. In addition, the whole system can be assembled and disassembled at will. The magnetic field is however transverse to the atomic motion and an extra repumper laser is necessary. A Halbach configuration of the magnets produces a high quality magnetic field and no further adjustment is needed. After optimization of the laser parameters, the apparatus produces an intense beam of slow and cold (87)Rb atoms. With typical fluxes of (1-5) × 10(10) atoms/s at 30 m s(-1), our apparatus efficiently loads a large magneto-optical trap with more than 10(10) atoms in 1 s, which is an ideal starting point for degenerate quantum gas experiments.

Combined quantum-state preparation and laser cooling of a continuous beam of cold atoms

We use two-laser optical pumping on a continuous atomic fountain in order to prepare cold cesium atoms in the same quantum ground state. A first laser excites the $F=4$ ground state to pump the atoms toward $F=3$ while a second $\ensuremath{\pi}$-polarized laser excites the $F=3\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=3$ transition of the ${D}_{2}$ line to produce Zeeman pumping toward $m=0$. To avoid trap states, we implement the first laser in a two-dimensional optical lattice geometry, thereby creating polarization gradients. This configuration has the advantage of simultaneously producing Sisyphus cooling when the optical lattice laser is tuned between the $F=4\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=4$ and $F=4\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=5$ transitions of the ${D}_{2}$ line, which is important to remove the heat produced by optical pumping. Detuning the frequency of the second $\ensuremath{\pi}$-polarized laser reveals the action of a mechanism improving both laser cooling and state-preparation efficiency. A physical interpretation of this mechanism is discussed.

Proposal of a truncated atomic beam fountain for reduction of collisional frequency shift

We propose an atomic fountain clock with a truncated cold atomic beam to achieve both a low collisional frequency shift and high frequency stability. In this clock, the launching velocity of a cold atomic beam can be swept to reduce the atomic density in the interrogation region for the Ramsey resonance and to increase the atomic density in the detection region. Before the top of the beam arrives at the interrogation region, the cold atomic beam is truncated by turning off the cooling laser beams to remove the unnecessary light shift. The atomic density in the interrogation region is theoretically evaluated to be 0.04 times that in an ordinary atomic fountain with optical molasses for the same number of detected atoms. The frequency stability limit due to quantum projection noise is calculated to reach 6.4x10{sup -14} in 1 s from the number of detected atoms while the fractional collisional shift is estimated to be {approx}{sup -}2x10{sup -16}.

Ion imaging in a high-gradient magnetic guide

We study a photoionization method to detect and image a narrow beam of cold atoms traveling along a high-gradient two-wire magnetic guide that is continuously on. Ions are accelerated in a compact acceleration region, directed through a drift region several centimeters in length, and detected using a position-sensitive ion detector. The potentials of several electrodes can be varied to adjust the imaging properties. Using ion trajectory simulations as well as experiments, we study the passage of the ions through the detection system, the magnification of the detection system, and the time-of-flight characteristics.

Improved setup for producing slow beams of cold molecules using a rotating nozzle

Intense beams of cold and slow molecules are produced by supersonic expansion out of a rapidly rotating nozzle, as first demonstrated by M. Gupta and D. Herschbach [J. Phys. Chem. A 103, 10670 (1999); 105, 1626 (2001)]. An improved setup is presented that is able to accelerate or decelerate cold atomic and molecular beams by up to 500 m/s. Technical improvements are discussed and beam parameters are characterized by detailed analysis of time-of-flight density distributions. The possibility of combining this beam source with electrostatic fields for guiding polar molecules is demonstrated.

Production and guidance of pulsed atomic beams on chip

We demonstrated two experimental methods of producing and guiding pulsed atomic beams on chip. One is to trap atoms first in a U-type magneto-optical trap on the chip, then transfer them to the magnetic guide field and push them simultaneously by a continuous force from the power imbalance of the magneto-optical trap laser beams hence the pulsed cold atom beams are produced and move along the magnetic guide to the destination. The other is to trap atoms directly by a H-type magneto-optical trap, then push them to make them move along the magnetic guide field, thus high rate cold atom beams can be produced and guided on the chip.

Atom Funnel with a Micron-Sized Outlet Using Evanescent Light

We process a silicon-on-insulator substrate into a funnel structure with a 2-µm-side square-shaped outlet by photolithography, anisotropic chemical etching, sputtering, and drilling with a focused ion beam. The funnel element is designed to generate a cold atomic beam with a high flux intensity of 1 atom/nm2·s using repulsive evanescent light. The evanescent light is produced in TE modes propagating through a 1-µm-thick TiO2 layer deposited on the slope faces in the case of coupling near-infrared lights for collecting Rb atoms released from a magneto-optical trap. The decay length of evanescent light is measured with a fiber probe in the collection mode.

A short pulse (7 μs FWHM) and high repetition rate (dc-5kHz) cantilever piezovalve for pulsed atomic and molecular beams

In this paper we report on the design and operation of a novel piezovalve for the production of short pulsed atomic or molecular beams. The high speed valve operates on the principle of a cantilever piezo. The only moving part, besides the cantilever piezo itself, is a very small O-ring that forms the vacuum seal. The valve can operate continuous (dc) and in pulsed mode with the same drive electronics. Pulsed operation has been tested at repetition frequencies up to 5 kHz. The static deflection of the cantilever, as mounted in the valve body, was measured as a function of driving field strength with a confocal microscope. The deflection and high speed dynamical response of the cantilever can be easily changed and optimized for a particular nozzle diameter or repetition rate by a simple adjustment of the free cantilever length. Pulsed molecular beams with a full width at half maximum pulse width as low as 7 micros have been measured at a position 10 cm downstream of the nozzle exit. This represents a gas pulse with a length of only 10 mm making it well matched to for instance experiments using laser beams. Such a short pulse with 6 bar backing pressure behind a 150 microm nozzle releases about 10(16) particles/pulse and the beam brightness was estimated to be 4x10(22) particles/(s str). The short pulses of the cantilever piezovalve result in a much reduced gas load in the vacuum system. We demonstrate operation of the pulsed valve with skimmer in a single vacuum chamber pumped by a 520 l/s turbomolecular pump maintaining a pressure of 5x10(-6) Torr, which is an excellent vacuum to have the strong and cold skimmed molecular beam interact with laser beams only 10 cm downstream of the nozzle to do velocity map slice imaging with a microchannel-plate imaging detector in a single chamber. The piezovalve produces cold and narrow (Delta v/v=2%-3%) velocity distributions of molecules seeded in helium or neon at modest backing pressures of only 6 bar. The low gas load of the cantilever valve makes it possible to design very compact single chamber molecular beam machines with high quality cold and intense supersonic beams. The high speed cantilever piezovalve may find broad applicability in experiments where short and strong gas pulses are needed with only modest pumping, the effective use of (expensive) samples, or the production of cold atomic and molecular beams.

Microfabricated evanescent-light funnel with high-intensity cold atom flux

We process a silicon-on-insulator substrate into a funnel with a 25-μm-side square-shaped outlet by photolithography and anisotropic chemical etching. The funnel is utilized to form a cold atomic beam by means of reflection and cooling on repulsive evanescent light. Monte Carlo simulations show that the flux intensity of emitted cold Rb atoms reaches 10 12 cm −2 s −1. The mean horizontal velocity is estimated to be below 10 cm/s, while the mean vertical velocity decreases in proportion to the outlet side. The evanescent-light funnel can be developed to concentrate 80% of Rb atoms falling from a standard magneto-optical trap.

Comment on “Generation of cold low divergent atomic beam of indium by laser ablation” [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76, 113302 (2005)

We present measurements of the velocity distribution of calcium atoms in an atomic beam generated using a dual-stage laser back-ablation apparatus. Distributions are measured using a velocity selective Doppler time-of-flight technique. They are Boltzmann-like with rms velocities corresponding to temperatures above the melting point for calcium. Contrary to a recent report in the literature, this method does not generate a subthermal atomic beam.

Response to “Comment on ‘Generation of cold low divergent atomic beam of indium by laser ablation’” [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 047101 (2009)

Response to “Comment on ‘Generation of cold low divergent atomic beam of indium by laser ablation’” [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 047101 (2009)

Studies on cold atoms trapped in a Quasi-Electrostatic optical dipole trap

We discuss the results of measurements of the temperature and density distribution of cold Rubidium atoms trapped and cooled in an optical dipole trap formed by focussed CO2 laser beams at a wavelength of 10.6 μm from a cold, collimated and intense atomic beam of flux 2 × 1010 atoms/s produced using an elongated 2D+MOT. A large number of rubidium atoms (⩾ 1010) were trapped in the MOT and the number density of atoms were further increased by making a temporal dark MOT to prevent density-limiting processes like photon rescattering by atoms at the trap centre. Subsequently, between 107 to 108 cold atoms at a temperature below 30 μK were transferred into a Quasi-Electrostatic trap (QUEST) formed by focussed CO2 laser beams at the MOT centre. Both single beam and crossed dual beam dipole traps were studied with a total output power of 50 W from the CO2 laser with focal spot sizes less than 100 microns. Various measurements were done on the cold atoms trapped in the dipole trap. The total atom number in the dipole trap and the spatial atom number density distribution in the trap was measured by absorption imaging technique. The temperature was determined from time-of-flight (TOF) data as well as from the absorption images after ballistic expansion of the atom cloud released from the dipole trap. The results from measurements are used to maximize the initial phase-space density prior to forced evaporative cooling to produce a Bose-Einstein Condensate.

Evaporative Cooling of Atoms to Quantum Degeneracy in an Optical Dipole Trap

We discuss our experimental results on forced evaporative cooling of cold rubidium 87Rb atoms to quantum degeneracy in an Optical Dipole Trap. The atoms are first trapped and cooled in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) loaded from a continuous beam of cold atoms [1]. More than 1010 atoms are trapped in the MOT and then about 108 atoms are transferred to a Quasi-Electrostatic Trap (QUEST) formed by tightly focused CO2 laser (λ = 10.6μm) beams intersecting at their foci in an orthogonal configuration in the horizontal plane. Before loading the atoms into the dipole trap, the phase-space density of the atomic ensemble was increased making use of sub-doppler cooling at large detuning and the temporal dark MOT technique. In a MOT the phase-space density of the atomic ensemble is six orders of magnitude less than what is required to achieve quantum degeneracy. After transferring atoms into the dipole trap efficiently, phase-space density increases by a factor of 103. Further increase in phase-space density to quantum degeneracy is achieved by forced evaporative cooling of atoms in the dipole trap.The evaporative cooling process involves a gradual reduction of the trap depth by ramping down the trapping laser intensity over a second. The temperature of the cold atomic cloud was measured by time-of-flight (TOF) technique. The spatial distribution of the atoms is measured using absorption imaging. We report results of evaporative cooling in a single beam and in a crossed double-beam dipole traps. Due to the large initial phase space density, and large initial number of atoms trapped, the quantum phase transition occurs after about 600 ms of evaporative cooling in our optimized crossed dipole trap.

Continuous transfer and laser guiding between two cold atom traps

We have demonstrated and modeled a simple and efficient method to transfer atoms from a first Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) to a second one. Two independent setups, with cesium and rubidium atoms respectively, have shown that a high power and slightly diverging laser beam optimizes the transfer between the two traps when its frequency is red-detuned from the atomic transition. This pushing laser extracts a continuous beam of slow and cold atoms out of the first MOT and also provides a guiding to the second one through the dipolar force. In order to optimize the transfer efficiency, the dependence of the atomic flux on the pushing laser parameters (power, detuning, divergence and waist) is investigated. The atomic flux is found to be proportional to the first MOT loading rate. Experimentally, the transfer efficiency reaches 70%, corresponding to a transfer rate up to 2.7x10^8 atoms/s with a final velocity of 5.5 m/s. We present a simple analysis of the atomic motion inside the pushing-guiding laser, in good agreement with the experimental data.

Linear Stark Shift in Dressed Atoms as a Signal to Measure a Nuclear Anapole Moment with a Cold-Atom Fountain or Interferometer

We demonstrate theoretically the existence of a linear dc Stark shift of the individual substates of an alkali atom in its ground state, dressed by a circularly polarized laser field. It arises from the electroweak nuclear anapole moment violating P but not T. It is characterized by the pseudoscalar xi k wedge E x B involving the photon angular momentum and static electric and magnetic fields. We derive the relevant left-right asymmetry with its complete signature in a field configuration selected for a precision measurement with cold-atom beams. The 3, 3 --> 4, 3 Cs transition frequency shift amounts to 7 microHz for a laser power of approximately 1 kW at 877 nm, E=100 kV/cm and B approximately > 0.5 G.

Continuous beams of cold atoms for space applications

The precision of atomic state measurements should ideally be limited by irreducible fluctuations associated with the number of atoms available, e.g. shot noise or quantum projection noise. In practice, other noise sources can limit the precision achievable; a well-known effect is the intermodulation effect, or Dick effect, which degrades the stability of atomic fountain clocks using pulsed sources. One way to beat this source of instability consists of interrogating the atoms with a microwave signal derived from exceptionally stable local oscillators, such as cryogenic oscillators, which are however bulky and not ideally suited to the constraints of space. Another way of reaching atomic-noise limited instability is to use continuous sources of cold atoms. Experimental results obtained both on a fountain standard and on an experimental Cs fountain illustrate the potential of continuous cold atomic beams for improving signal-to-noise ratio and precision of measurement. Current developments towards higher atomic beam flux are also described.

Theoretical study of a cold-atom beam splitter

A theoretical model is presented for the study of the dynamics of a cold atomic cloud falling in the gravity field in the presence of two crossing dipole guides. The cloud is split between the two branches of this laser guide, and we compare experimental measurements of the splitting efficiency with semiclassical simulations. We then explore the possibilities of optimization of this beam splitter. Our numerical study also gives access to detailed information, such as the atom temperature after the splitting.

Realization of an intense cold Rb atomic beam based on a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap: Experiments and comparison with simulations

We discuss the implementation and characterization of the source of a slow, intense, and collimated beam of rubidium atoms. The cold atomic beam is produced by two-dimensional magneto-optical trapping in directions transverse to the atomic beam axis and unbalanced Doppler cooling in the axial direction. The vacuum design allows use of relatively low laser power and a considerably simplified assembly. The atomic beam has a high flux of about $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{10}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{atoms}∕\mathrm{s}$ at a total cooling laser power of $55\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mW}$. It has a narrow longitudinal velocity distribution with mean velocity $15\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{m}∕\mathrm{s}$ with full width at half maximum $3.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{m}∕\mathrm{s}$ and has a low divergence of $26\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mrad}$. The high flux enables ultrafast loading of about ${10}^{10}$ atoms into a three-dimensional (3D) magneto-optical trap within 500 ms. The variation of the atomic beam flux was studied as a function of the rubidium vapor pressure, cooling laser power, transverse cooling laser beam length, detuning of the cooling laser, and relative intensities of the cooling beams along the atomic beam axis. We also discuss a detailed comparison of our measurements of the cold atomic beam with a 3D numerical simulation.

Continuously transferring cold atoms in caesium double magneto-optical trap

We have established a caesium double magneto-optical trap (MOT) system for cavity-QED experiment, and demonstrated the continuous transfer of cold caesium atoms from the vapour-cell MOT with a pressure of ~ 1?10?6 Pa to the ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) MOT with a pressure of ~ 8?10?8 Pa via a focused continuous-wave transfer laser beam. The effect of frequency detuning as well as the intensity of the transfer beam is systematically investigated, which makes the transverse cooling adequate before the atoms leak out of the vapour-cell MOT to reduce divergence of the cold atomic beam. The typical cold atomic flux got from vapour-cell MOT is ~ 2?107 atoms/s. About 5?106 caesium atoms are recaptured in the UHV MOT.

Controllable Magnetic Focusing of Cold Atoms on a Chip

We propose a new lens scheme to focus cold atoms by using a controllableinhomogeneous magnetic field from a square current-carrying wirefabricated on a chip. The spatial distributions of the magnetic fieldare calculated, and the results show that the generated magnetic fieldis a two-dimensional (2D) quadrupole one and can be used to focus coldatoms or a cold atomic beam. The dynamic processes of cold atoms passingthrough our square wire layout and its focusing properties are studiedby using Monte Carlo simulations. Our study shows that the atomicclouds can be focused effectively by our magnetic lens scheme, and thefocal length of the atomic lens and its radius of focused spot can becontinuously changed by adjusting the current in the wires.