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arXiv:1112.3858 · Physical Review A

Influence of static electric fields on an optical ion trap

Christian Schneider, Martin Enderlein, Thomas M. Huber, Stephan Dürr, Tobias Schaetz

Published Jan 31, 2012• 30 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We recently reported on a proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating optical trapping of an ion in a single-beam dipole trap superimposed by a static electric potential [Ch. Schneider, M. Enderlein, T. Huber, and T. Schaetz, Nat. Photon. 4, 772 (2010)]. Here, we discuss, first, the experimental procedures focusing on the influence and consequences of the static electric potential. This potential can easily prevent successful optical trapping, if its configuration is not chosen carefully. Afterward, we analyze the dipole trap experiments with different analytic models, in which different approximations are applied. According to these models the experimental results agree with recoil heating as the relevant heating effect. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation has been developed to refine the analysis. It reveals a large impact of the static electric potential on the dipole trap experiments in general. While it supports the results of the analytic models for the parameters used in the experiments, the analytic models are no longer valid for significantly different parameters. Finally, we propose technical improvements for future realizations of experiments with optically trapped ions.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.85.013422

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We recently reported on a proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating optical trapping of an ion in a single-beam dipole trap superimposed by a static electric potential [Ch. Schneider, M. Enderlein, T. Huber, and T. Schaetz, Nat. Photon. 4, 772 (2010)]. Here, we discuss, first, the experimental procedures focusing on the influence and consequences of the static electric potential. This potential can easily prevent successful optical trapping, if its configuration is not chosen carefully. Afterward, we analyze the dipole trap experiments with different analytic models, in which different approximations are applied. According to these models the experimental results agree with recoil heating as the relevant heating effect. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation has been developed to refine the analysis. It reveals a large impact of the static electric potential on the dipole trap experiments in general. While it supports the results of the analytic models for the parameters used in the experiments, the analytic models are no longer valid for significantly different parameters. Finally, we propose technical improvements for future realizations of experiments with optically trapped ions.
In the development of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, atom-ion hybrid systems are characterized by the presence of a new tool in the experimental AMO toolbox: atom-ion interactions. One of the main limitations in state-of-the-art atom-ion experiments is represented by the micromotion component of the ions’ dynamics in a Paul trap, as the presence of micromotion in atom-ion collisions results in a heating mechanism that prevents atom-ion mixtures from undergoing a coherent evolution. Here, we report the design and the simulation of a novel ion trapping setup especially conceived of for integration with an ultracold atoms experiment. The ion confinement is realized by using an electro-optical trap based on the combination of an optical and an electrostatic field, so that no micromotion component will be present in the ions’ dynamics. The confining optical field is generated by a deep optical lattice created at the crossing of a bow-tie cavity, while a static electric quadrupole ensures the ions’ confinement in the plane orthogonal to the optical lattice. The setup is also equipped with a Paul trap for cooling the ions produced by photoionization of a hot atomic beam, and the design of the two ion traps facilitates the swapping of the ions from the Paul trap to the electro-optical trap.
Ion–atom interactions are a comparatively recent field of research that has drawn considerable attention due to its applications in areas including quantum chemistry and quantum simulations. In first experiments, atomic ions and neutral atoms have been successfully overlapped by devising hybrid apparatuses combining established trapping methods, Paul traps for ions and optical or magneto-optical traps for neutral atoms, respectively. Since then, the field has seen considerable progress, but the inherent presence of radiofrequency (rf) fields in such hybrid traps was found to have a limiting impact on the achievable collision energies. Recently, it was shown that suitable combinations of optical dipole traps (ODTs) can be used for trapping both atoms and atomic ions alike, allowing to carry out experiments in absence of any rf fields. Here, we show that the expected cooling in such bichromatic traps is highly sensitive to relative position fluctuations between the two optical trapping beams, suggesting that this is the dominant mechanism limiting the currently observed cooling performance. We discuss strategies for mitigating these effects by using optimized setups featuring adapted ODT configurations. This includes proposed schemes that may mitigate three-body losses expected at very low temperatures, allowing to access the quantum dominated regime of interaction.
Abstract We have experimentally achieved the all-optical trapping of a 40Ca+ ion. An optical dipole trap was established using a high-power, far-detuned, tightly focused laser with a wavelength of 532 nm. The single 40Ca+ ion was trapped without any RF fields and demonstrated a long lifetime of over 3 s. In this experiment, we implemented several measures to improve the optical trapping probability, including focusing the dipole beam waist near the diffraction limit, precisely compensating for stray electric fields, and mitigating electron shelving in metastable states. The optical trapping of a 40Ca+ ion eliminates the influence of micromotion induced by RF fields, potentially paving the way for development of all-optical trapping ion optical clocks.
Electric field noise is a hinderance to the assembly of large-scale quantum computers based on entangled trapped ions. Apart from ubiquitous technical noise, experimental studies of trapped ion heating have revealed additional limiting contributions to this noise, originating from atomic processes on the electrode surfaces. In a recent work [Safavi-Naini, Rabl, Weck, and Sadeghpour, Phys. Rev. A 84, 023412 (2011)] we described a microscopic model for this excess electric field noise, which points a way towards a more systematic understanding of surface adsorbates as progenitors of electric field jitter noise. Here, we address the impact of surface monolayer contamination on adsorbate-induced noise processes. Using exact numerical calculations for H and N atomic monolayers on a Au(111) surface, representing opposite extremes of physisorption and chemisorption, we show that an additional monolayer can significantly affect the noise power spectrum and, respectively, enhance and suppress the heating rates.
Motional heating of ions in microfabricated traps is one of the open challenges hindering experimental realizations of large-scale quantum processing devices. Recently, a series of measurements of the heating rates in surface-electrode ion traps characterized their frequency, distance, and temperature dependencies, but our understanding of the microscopic origin of this noise remains incomplete. In this work we develop a theoretical model for the electric field noise which is associated with a random distribution of adsorbed atoms on the trap electrode surface. By using first-principles calculations of the fluctuating dipole moments of the adsorbed atoms we evaluate the distance, frequency, and temperature dependence of the resulting electric field fluctuation spectrum. Our theory reproduces correctly the ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ dependence with distance of the ion from the electrode surface and calculates the noise spectrum beyond the standard scenario of two-level fluctuators by incorporating all the relevant vibrational states. Our model predicts a regime of 1/f1/f1/f noise which commences at roughly the frequency of the fundamental phonon transition rate and a thermally activated noise spectrum which for higher temperatures exhibits a crossover as a function of frequency.
We have investigated the role played by inter-ion Coulomb interactions in a magneto-optical trap ion source (MOTIS). Using a Monte Carlo simulation accounting for all pair-wise ion-ion Coulomb interactions in the source, we have calculated the broadening of the transverse spatial and velocity distributions as well as the increase in emittance over a range of beam currents and extraction electric fields. Using a 7Li MOTIS, we have experimentally studied the broadening of the spatial distribution as a function of total beam current and extraction electric field by measuring the fraction of the beam current that passes through a 20 μm diameter aperture. The Monte Carlo simulations agree well with the experimental results, indicating that such simulations capture the essential physics of the source. Our results show that while Coulomb interactions can cause a significant increase in emittance in some situations, it is possible to keep the effects to an acceptable level by suitable choice of extraction field and beam current. These considerations are essential to the process of optimizing MOTIS geometry and operating conditions for use in high-resolution focused ion beam applications.