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arXiv:1512.02396 · Review of Scientific Instruments

Note: Ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal vacuum glass cell

Stefan Brakhane, Wolfgang Alt, Dieter Meschede, Carsten Robens, Geol Moon, Andrea Alberti

Published Dec 1, 2015• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report on an ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal glass cell for ultra-high vacuum applications. The epoxy-bonded trapezoidal windows of the cell are made of SF57 glass, which exhibits a very low stress-induced birefringence. We characterize the birefringence Δn of each window with the cell under vacuum conditions, obtaining values around 10(-8). After baking the cell at 150 °C, we reach a pressure below 10(-10) mbar. In addition, each window is antireflection coated on both sides, which is highly desirable for quantum optics experiments and precision measurements.

DOI
10.1063/1.4938281

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We report on an ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal glass cell for ultra-high vacuum applications. The epoxy-bonded trapezoidal windows of the cell are made of SF57 glass, which exhibits a very low stress-induced birefringence. We characterize the birefringence Δn of each window with the cell under vacuum conditions, obtaining values around 10(-8). After baking the cell at 150 °C, we reach a pressure below 10(-10) mbar. In addition, each window is antireflection coated on both sides, which is highly desirable for quantum optics experiments and precision measurements.
Compact, customizable, non-magnetic vacuum systems are a key requirement for many field applications of quantum technology based on cold atoms. We report on the development and construction of a compact, low-cost ultra-high vacuum compatible cell using the glass-ceramic MACOR. The cell offers a CF flange connection to commercial vacuum technology, as well as high numerical aperture viewports for precision optical measurements. The presented technology shows stable vacuum pressures of <1⋅10−10< 1 \cdot 10^{-10}<1⋅10−10 mbar for more than a year since the implementation into the vacuum system of a quantum gas experiment, further proving suitability for general quantum technology applications.
The paper discusses requirements and solutions for antireflection coatings applicable for a fused silica cell which is attended to manipulate Rydberg atoms as qubits. Multiple laser beams at various wavelengths and light incidence angles pass the different window areas of the cell. AR-coatings were designed and deposited on the window areas to receive an optimal solution for each of the lasers. Some of the coatings optimized for the internal surfaces of the cell contain nanostructured layers as an option to improve the polarization properties at higher light incidence angles. Cleaning, handling and outgassing of these layers was investigated in particular.
Characteristics of a diffusion-bonded sapphire cell for optical experiments with hot metal vapors were investigated. The sapphire cell consisted of sapphire-crystal plates and a borosilicate-glass tube, which were bonded to each other by diffusion bonding without any binders or glues. The glass tube was attached to a vacuum manifold using the standard method applied in glass processing, filled with a small amount of Rb metal by chasing with a torch, and then sealed. The cell was baked at high temperatures, and optical experiments were then performed using rubidium atoms at room temperature. The sapphire cell was found to be vacuum tight, at least up to 350°C, and the sapphire walls remained clear over all temperatures. From the optical experiments, the generation of a background gas was indicated after baking at 200°C. The background gas pressure was low enough to avoid pressure broadening of absorption lines but high enough to cause velocity-changing collisions of Rb atoms. The generated gas pressure decreased at higher temperatures, probably due to chemical reactions.
By trapping a single atom in a Fabry-Perot cavity, we can realize strong coupling between the atom and the electromagnetic field, which may in the future be utilized to perform quantum gates in quantum computing. Previous experiments with Cesium atoms at the Caltech Quantum Optics group achieved a trapping time of 3 seconds, and they led to a detailed study of the atom-photon interactions known as the vacuum-Rabi splitting. It is believed that the trapping time is limited by collisions with residual gas molecules inside the vacuum chamber. I report three designs for the piezoelectric-controlled cavity mirror mount, bakeable to a temperature above 250 °C and hence more desirable for deployments in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). I also present new procedures which I have helped to develop for cavity construction and the characterization of cavities. In addition, I consider cavity birefringence, which can present complications to our experiments because a birefringent cavity supports two orthogonal, nondegenerate modes. I developed a simple model of cavity birefringence and made our first attempt to actively induce birefringence by stressing the cavity mirrors with piezoelectric materials, although we have not yet been able to demonstrate control over cavity birefringence. Nonetheless, with expected improvements in both mechanical stability of the cavity and base pressure of the system, it is hoped that a longer trapping time of 30 seconds can be achieved and that the new experiment with a single-sided cavity can lead to further studies of the dynamics of atom-photon interactions.
In this thesis, I present single-site detection of neutral atoms stored in a three-dimensional optical lattice using a numerical aperture objective lens (NAdesign = 0.92). The combination of high-resolution imaging with state-dependent trapping along two-direction of the lattice opens up the path towards quantum simulations via quantum walks. Suppressing the interactions of a quantum system with the environment is essential for all quantum simulation experiments. It demands a precise control of both the external magnetic (stray) fields and the polarization properties of laser beams inside the vacuum chamber. I designed a metal shielding to reduce magnetic field fluctuations and designed, assembled and characterized a novel ultra-high vacuum glass cell. The glass cell consists of special glass material and exhibits an ultra-low birefringence Δn of a few times 10^-8 to highly suppress polarization disturbances originating from stress birefringence in vacuum windows. Furthermore, anti-reflection coatings avoid reflections on all window surfaces. The cell hosts the assembled vacuum-compatible objective, that exhibits a diffraction limited resolution of up to 453 nm and allows to optically resolve the spacing of the optical lattice. Fluorescence images of single trapped atoms are used to characterize the imaging system. The filling, orientation and geometry of the optical lattice is precisely reconstructed using positions of atoms that can be determined from fluorescence images. Furthermore, I present a scheme to realize state-dependent transport and discuss its robustness against experimental imperfections in a technical implementation. This transport scheme enable the realization of discrete-time quantum walks with neutral atoms in two dimensions. These quantum walks pave the way towards the simulation of artificial magnetic fields and topologically protected edge states.
In recent years, femtosecond laser direct writing technology has made great progress in integrated quantum photonic circuits due to its advantages of applicability to an extensive range of materials and true 3-D ability. However, a waveguide prepared via a femtosecond laser shows a non-circular cross section and high birefringence, which seriously restricts the development of polarization encoded quantum photonic integrated chips towards greater integration and higher functions. Here, we propose an amplitude-phase double shaping method to reduce waveguide birefringence, which involves using a cylindrical lens and slits. A waveguide prepared using this method shows a circularity cross-section that reaches up to 97.6% and a birefringence that is as low as 1.49 × 10-6. Based on such an ultralow birefringence waveguide, a polarization independent Hong-Ou-Mandel quantum interferometer was fabricated. Interference visibilities for identical photon pairs in different polarization states were found to be more than 95% with a standard deviation of 0.6%. The ultra-low birefringence single-mode waveguide and the polarization-independent interferometer realized using this approach will play an important role in large-scale polarization encoding integrated quantum photonic chips.