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arXiv:1409.3151 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Feedback-enhanced algorithm for aberration correction of holographic atom traps

Graham D. Bruce, Matthew Y H Johnson, Edward Cormack, David A W Richards, James Mayoh, Donatella Cassettari

Published May 8, 2015• 25 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We show that a phase-only spatial light modulator can be used to generate non-trivial light distributions suitable for trapping ultracold atoms, when the hologram calculation is included within a simple and robust feedback loop that corrects for imperfect device response and optical aberrations. This correction reduces the discrepancy between target and experimental light distribution to the level of a few percent (root mean square error). We prove the generality of this algorithm by applying it to a variety of target light distributions of relevance for cold atomic physics.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/48/11/115303

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This thesis details the design, construction and characterisation of an ultracold atoms system, developed in conjunction with a flexible optical trapping scheme which utilises a Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator (LC SLM). The ultracold atoms system uses a hybrid trap formed of a quadrupole magnetic field and a focused far-detuned laser beam to form a Bose-Einstein Condensate of 2×10⁵ ⁸⁷Rb atoms. Cold atoms confined in several arbitrary optical trapping geometries are created by overlaying the LC SLM trap on to the hybrid trap, where a simple feedback process using the atomic distribution as a metric is shown to be capable of compensating for optical aberrations. Two novel methods for creating flexible optical traps with the LC SLM are also detailed, the first of which is a multi-wavelength technique which allows several wavelengths of light to be smoothly shaped and applied to the atoms. The second method uses a computationally-efficient minimisation algorithm to create light patterns which are constrained in both amplitude and phase, where the extra phase constraint was shown to be crucial for controlling propagation effects of the LC SLM trapping beam.
We report the realization of a new iterative Fourier-transform algorithm for creating holograms that can diffract light into an arbitrary two-dimensional intensity profile. We show that the predicted intensity distributions are smooth with a fractional error from the target distribution at the percent level. We demonstrate that this new algorithm outperforms the most frequently used alternatives typically by one and two orders of magnitude in accuracy and roughness, respectively. The techniques described in this paper outline a path to creating arbitrary holographic atom traps in which the only remaining hurdle is physical implementation.