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arXiv:1209.3028 · Physical Review Letters

Coherence and Raman Sideband Cooling of a Single Atom in an Optical Tweezer

Jeff D. Thompson, T. G. Tiecke, Alexander S. Zibrov, Vladan Vuletić, Mikhail D. Lukin

Published Mar 26, 2013• 243 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate quantum control of a single atom in a tightly focused optical tweezer trap. We show that inevitable spatially varying polarization gives rise to significant internal-state decoherence but that this effect can be mitigated by an appropriately chosen magnetic bias field. This enables Raman sideband cooling of a single atom close to its three-dimensional ground state (vibrational quantum numbers ${\overline{n}}_{x}={\overline{n}}_{y}=0.01$, ${\overline{n}}_{z}=8$) even for a trap beam waist as small as $w=900\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}$. The small atomic wave packet with $\ensuremath{\delta}x=\ensuremath{\delta}y=24\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}z=270\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}$ represents a promising starting point for future hybrid quantum systems where atoms are placed in close proximity to surfaces.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.110.133001

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We investigate quantum control of a single atom in a tightly focused optical tweezer trap. We show that inevitable spatially varying polarization gives rise to significant internal-state decoherence but that this effect can be mitigated by an appropriately chosen magnetic bias field. This enables Raman sideband cooling of a single atom close to its three-dimensional ground state (vibrational quantum numbers n‾x=n‾y=0.01{\overline{n}}_{x}={\overline{n}}_{y}=0.01nx​=ny​=0.01, n‾z=8{\overline{n}}_{z}=8nz​=8) even for a trap beam waist as small as w=900  nmw=900\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}w=900  nm. The small atomic wave packet with \ensuremathδx=\ensuremathδy=24  nm\ensuremath{\delta}x=\ensuremath{\delta}y=24\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}\ensuremathδx=\ensuremathδy=24  nm and \ensuremathδz=270  nm\ensuremath{\delta}z=270\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}\ensuremathδz=270  nm represents a promising starting point for future hybrid quantum systems where atoms are placed in close proximity to surfaces.
We report cooling of a single neutral atom to its three-dimensional vibrational ground state in an optical tweezer.After employing Raman sideband cooling for tens of milliseconds, we measure via sideband spectroscopy a three-dimensional ground-state occupation of about 90%.We further observe coherent control of the spin and motional state of the trapped atom.Our demonstration shows that an optical tweezer, formed simply by a tightly focused beam of light, creates sufficient confinement for efficient sideband cooling.This source of ground-state neutral atoms will be instrumental in numerous quantum simulation and logic applications that require a versatile platform for storing and manipulating ultracold single neutral atoms.For example, these results will improve current optical-tweezer experiments studying atom-photon coupling and Rydberg quantum logic gates, and could provide new opportunities such as rapid production of single dipolar molecules or quantum simulation in tweezer arrays.
We clarify the optimal conditions for the protocol of Raman sideband cooling (RSC) of a single atom confined with a tightly focused far-off-resonant optical dipole trap (optical tweezers). The protocol ultimately pursues cooling to a three-dimensional ground state of the confining potential. We show that the RSC protocol has to fulfill a set of critical requirements for the parameters of cooling beams and the excitation geometry to be effective in a most general three-dimensional configuration and for an atom having initial temperature between the recoil and the Doppler bounds. We perform a numerical simulation of the Raman passage for an example of an 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb atom taking into account the full level structure and all possible transition channels.
We combine near-deterministic preparation of a single atom with Raman sideband cooling, to create a push-button mechanism to prepare a single atom in the motional ground state of tightly focused optical tweezers. In the two-dimensional (2D) radial plane, we achieve a large ground-state fidelity for the entire procedure (loading and cooling) of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.73$, while the ground-state occupancy is $\ensuremath{\sim}0.88$ for realizations with a single atom present. For 1D axial cooling, we attain a ground-state fraction of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.52$. The combined 3D cooling provides a ground-state population of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.11$. Our Raman sideband cooling variation is indifferent to magnetic field fluctuations, allowing widespread unshielded experimental implementations. Our work provides a pathway towards a range of coherent few-body experiments.
Summary form only given. Complete control of individual atoms trapped in far-off resonance optical tweezers is vital for gaining a better understanding of the microscopic world. It will provide a platform with unprecedented flexibility for studying few-body physics, and might lead to new quantum technologies. By combining near-deterministic preparation of single atoms [1-3] with Zeeman-insensitive Raman sideband cooling [4], we present a push button method to prepare a single 85Rb atom in its centre of mass ground state with high fidelity. Our Raman sideband cooling scheme works efficiently in an environment with magnetic field fluctuations that were too large for other Raman sideband cooling variations [5,6]. In 2D, we achieve a fidelity for the entire loading procedure of ~0.7 for a single atom in the ground state of the optical tweezers. In 3D, the fidelity drops to 0.1 since the cooling is less efficient for the weakly confined tweezer axis.
We report Raman sideband cooling of a single sodium atom to its three-dimensional motional ground state in an optical tweezer. Despite a large Lamb-Dicke parameter, high initial temperature, and large differential light shifts between the excited state and the ground state, we achieve a ground-state population of 93.5(7)% after 53 ms of cooling. Our technique includes addressing high-order sidebands, where several motional quanta are removed by a single laser pulse, and fast modulation of the optical tweezer intensity. We demonstrate that Raman sideband cooling to the three-dimensional motional ground state is possible, even without tight confinement and low initial temperature.