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arXiv:1311.7068 · Optics Letters

Ion current as a precise measure of the loading rate of a magneto-optical trap

W. Jiang, K. Bailey, Z.-T. Lu, P. Mueller, T. P. O’Connor, R. Purtschert

Published Jan 15, 2014• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have demonstrated that the ion current resulting from collisions between metastable krypton atoms in a magneto-optical trap can be used to precisely measure the trap loading rate. We measured both the ion current of the abundant isotope 83Kr (isotopic abundance=11%) and the single-atom counting rate of the rare isotope 85Kr (isotopic abundance∼1×10(-11)), and found the two quantities to be proportional at a precision level of 0.9%. This work results in a significant improvement in using the magneto-optical trap as an analytical tool for noble-gas isotope ratio measurements, and will benefit both atomic physics studies and applications in the earth sciences.

DOI
10.1364/ol.39.000409

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We have demonstrated that the ion current resulting from collisions between metastable krypton atoms in a magneto-optical trap can be used to precisely measure the trap loading rate. We measured both the ion current of the abundant isotope 83Kr (isotopic abundance=11%) and the single-atom counting rate of the rare isotope 85Kr (isotopic abundance∼1×10(-11)), and found the two quantities to be proportional at a precision level of 0.9%. This work results in a significant improvement in using the magneto-optical trap as an analytical tool for noble-gas isotope ratio measurements, and will benefit both atomic physics studies and applications in the earth sciences.
The determination of isotope ratios of noble-gas atoms has many applications, e.g. , in physics, nuclear-arms control, and Earth sciences. For several applications, the concentration of specific noble-gas isotopes ( e.g. , Kr and Ar) is so low that single-atom detection is highly desirable for a precise determination of the concentration. As an important step in this direction, we demonstrate the operation of a krypton atom trap trace analysis (ATTA) setup based on a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for metastable Kr atoms excited by all-optical means. Compared to other state-of-the-art techniques for preparing metastable noble-gas atoms, all-optical production is capable of overcoming limitations regarding minimal probe volume and avoiding cross-contamination of the samples. In addition, it allows for a compact and reliable setup. We identify optimal parameters of our experimental setup by employing the most abundant isotope 84 Kr, and demonstrate single-atom detection within a 3D MOT.
A new method of ultrasensitive trace-isotope analysis has been developed based upon the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms. It has been used to count individual 85Kr and 81Kr atoms present in a natural krypton sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10−11 and 10−13, respectively. The atom counts are free of contamination from other isotopes, elements, or molecules. The method is applicable to other trace-isotopes that can be efficiently captured with a magneto-optical trap, and has a broad range of potential applications.
The single atom counting rate of a rare isotope and the loading rate of another stable isotope with an abundance over 10 orders of magnitude larger are measured in one atom trap. The linear correlation between the measured counting/loading rates is examined to determine the (84)Kr/(82)Kr and (85)Kr/(83)Kr ratios of a Kr gas sample. Experiments show that the relative uncertainty is reduced to 1.3% when the single atom counting rate of (85)Kr is normalized by the measured (83)Kr loading rate. The measurement of the normalized single atom counting rate can be used to determine extremely low (10(-16)-10(-11)) isotope abundance. This normalization method is robust and can also be applied in other atomic systems.
Laser manipulation of neutral atoms has been used to count individual krypton-85 and krypton-81 atoms present in a natural krypton gas sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10(-11) and 10(-13), respectively. This method of isotope trace analysis is free of contamination from other isotopes and elements and can be applied to several different isotope tracers for a wide range of applications. The demonstrated detection efficiency is 1 x 10(-7). System improvements could increase the efficiency by many orders of magnitude.
Abstract We report simultaneous cooling and trapping of metastable 84 Kr ( 84 Kr*) and metastable 86 Kr ( 86 Kr*) atoms by overlapping the cooling laser beams for these different isotopes in the same region of a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Approximately 2 × 10 5 atoms of each isotope were trapped in this two isotope-MOT (TIMOT). We have investigated the heteronuclear collision trap loss rates for each isotope due to the presence of cold atoms of other isotope using the TIMOT loading curves. The two body heteronuclear loss rate coefficient (i.e. for the loss of 84 Kr* due to presence of 86 Kr*) and the reciprocal loss rate coefficient (i.e. for the loss of 86 Kr* due to presence of 84 Kr*) are measured to be (8.7 ± 0.8) × 10 −10 cm 3 s −1 and (8.8 ± 0.8) × 10 −10 cm 3 s −1 respectively for laser beam intensity values of 21 mW cm −2 (for cooling of 84 Kr*) and 64 mW cm −2 (for cooling of 86 Kr*). The dependence of heteronuclear cold collision loss rate on cooling laser beams intensity has also been studied and compared with homonuclear cold collision loss rate.
A new method of ultrasensitive trace-isotope analysis has been developed based upon the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms. It has been used to count individual 85Kr and 81Kr atoms present in a natural krypton sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10−11 and 10−13, respectively. The atom counts are free of contamination from other isotopes, elements, or molecules. The method is applicable to other trace-isotopes that can be efficiently captured with a magneto-optical trap, and has a broad range of potential applications.