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arXiv:1712.07044

Pulsed versus continuous wave operation of a ring Stark decelerator

Yomay Shyur, Jason A. Bossert, Heather J. Lewandowski

Published Dec 19, 2017• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Stark deceleration is a technique that uses time-varying inhomogeneous electric fields to decelerate polar molecules for various molecular beam and trapping experiments. New ring-geometry Stark decelerators with continuously varying voltages offer a method to produce a more intense source of molecules in a technique called traveling-wave Stark deceleration. However, this type of deceleration is more experimentally challenging than the more typically used crossed-pin geometry decelerators with pulsed voltages. Here, we present an experimental realization of a ring-geometry Stark decelerator using either continuously varying or discrete voltages. Pulsed-ring Stark deceleration using discrete voltages is easier to implement and, under certain circumstances, is more efficient than traveling-wave Stark deceleration. A comparison of experimental and simulated results between traveling-wave and pulsed-ring Stark deceleration is presented along with a simple model for determining when each mode is more efficient.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1712.07044

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Stark deceleration is a technique that uses time-varying inhomogeneous electric fields to decelerate polar molecules for various molecular beam and trapping experiments. New ring-geometry Stark decelerators with continuously varying voltages offer a method to produce a more intense source of molecules in a technique called traveling-wave Stark deceleration. However, this type of deceleration is more experimentally challenging than the more typically used crossed-pin geometry decelerators with pulsed voltages. Here, we present an experimental realization of a ring-geometry Stark decelerator using either continuously varying or discrete voltages. Pulsed-ring Stark deceleration using discrete voltages is easier to implement and, under certain circumstances, is more efficient than traveling-wave Stark deceleration. A comparison of experimental and simulated results between traveling-wave and pulsed-ring Stark deceleration is presented along with a simple model for determining when each mode is more efficient.
Abstract Stark deceleration is a technique that uses time-varying inhomogeneous electric fields to decelerate polar molecules for various molecular beam and trapping experiments. New ring-geometry Stark decelerators with continuously varying voltages offer a method to produce a more intense source of molecules than in the more typically used crossed-pin geometry Stark decelerators. However, this new technique, traveling-wave Stark deceleration, is more experimentally challenging due to the electronic requirements. A third method, pulsed-ring Stark deceleration, uses ring-geometry electrodes with high-voltage pulses to decelerate molecules. The discrete voltages make it easier to implement, and it is more efficient in certain situations due to an increased longitudinal potential gradient. Here, we present an experimental realization of a ring-geometry Stark decelerator using both continuously varying and discrete voltages. Using the pulsed-ring method, we demonstrate a newly accessible low-velocity regime for moderate peak voltages on ring electrodes. This opens up the opportunity to efficiently decelerate various molecular species using a medium length decelerator. A comparison of experimental and simulated results between traveling-wave and pulsed-ring Stark deceleration is presented along with a simple model for determining when each mode is more efficient.
The growing field of cold molecule physics has demonstrated many methods of quantum control for precision measurement and molecular interaction studies. One particular method is Stark deceleration, which uses electric field gradients to produce packets of slow polar molecules. Since Stark deceleration does not increase phase-space density, the efficiency of the deceleration process is critical in determining the final cold molecule density. This dissertation describes three different Stark deceleration techniques. The first type of deceleration is pulsed-pin deceleration. We use this technique to produce slow OH molecules that can be trapped for cold collision studies. A two photon state-selective detection system, which includes a 118 nm photon, is used to determine the density distribution of OH in the trap. We explore the advantages and limitations to creating 118 nm light. The second and third types of Stark deceleration are pulsed-ring and traveling-wave methods of running a ring-geometry decelerator. Ring-geometry decelerators present improved deceleration efficiencies due to the cylindrical symmetry of the electrodes and true three-dimensional confinement. The pulsed-ring mode of the ring decelerator uses commercial high-voltage switches to apply discrete pulses to the ring electrodes. The continuous operation mode of the ring decelerator uses varying sine-wave voltages to create a traveling Stark potential well and has proven to be incredibly challenging due to the analog high voltage requirements of the system. In order to bring ND3 seeded in krypton (∼415 m/s) down to rest in the laboratory, sine wave voltages with amplitudes up to ±10 kV, currents up to 500 mA, and a bandwidth of 30 kHz down to DC are required. We describe a high-voltage amplifier that can be used for traveling-wave deceleration. The traveling-wave Stark deceleration mode is then compared to the pulsed-ring Stark deceleration mode and cases where one mode is superior to another are discussed.
The motion of polar molecules can be controlled by time-varying inhomogeneous electric fields. In a Stark decelerator, this is exploited to accelerate, transport, or decelerate a fraction of a molecular beam. When combined with a trap, the decelerator provides a means to store the molecules for times up to seconds. Here, we review our efforts to produce cold molecules via this technique. In particular, we present a new generation Stark decelerator and electrostatic trap that selects a significant part of a molecular beam pulse that can be loaded into the trap. Deceleration and trapping experiments using a beam of OH radicals are discussed.
Cryogenic buffer-gas beams are a promising method for producing bright sources of cold molecular radicals for cold-collision and chemical-reaction experiments. In order to use these beams in studies of reactions with controlled collision energies or in trapping experiments, one needs a method of controlling the forward velocity of the beam. A Stark decelerator can be an effective tool for controlling the mean speed of molecules produced by supersonic jets, but efficient deceleration of buffer-gas beams presents new challenges due to longer pulse lengths. Traveling-wave decelerators are uniquely suited to meet these challenges because of their ability to confine molecules in three dimensions during deceleration and their versatility afforded by the analog control of the electrodes. We have created ground-state $\mathrm{CH}(X{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{2}\ensuremath{\Pi})$ radicals in a cryogenic buffer-gas cell with the potential to produce a cold molecular beam of 1011{10}^{11}1011 molecules/pulse. We present a general protocol for Stark deceleration of beams with a large position and velocity spread for use with a traveling-wave decelerator. Our method involves confining molecules transversely with a hexapole for an optimized distance before deceleration. This rotates the phase-space distribution of the molecular packet so that the packet is matched to the time-varying phase-space acceptance of the decelerator. We demonstrate with simulations and an analytic one-dimensional model that this method can decelerate a significant fraction of the molecules in successive wells of a traveling-wave decelerator to produce energy-tuned beams for cold and controlled-molecule experiments.
We present experiments on decelerating and trapping ammonia molecules using a combination of a Stark decelerator and a traveling wave decelerator. In the traveling wave decelerator, a moving potential is created by a series of ring-shaped electrodes to which oscillating high voltages (HV) are applied. By lowering the frequency of the applied voltages, the molecules confined in the moving trap are decelerated and brought to a standstill. As the molecules are confined in a true 3D well, this kind of deceleration has practically no losses, resulting in a great improvement on the usual Stark deceleration techniques. The necessary voltages are generated by amplifying the output of an arbitrary wave generator using fast HV amplifiers, giving us great control over the trapped molecules. We illustrate this by experiments in which we adiabatically cool trapped NH3 and ND3 molecules and resonantly excite their motion.
Abstract There is increasing interest in cold heavy polar molecular species for their applications in fundamental physics, such as the tests of the electron’s electric dipole moment. Here we propose a switched ring Stark decelerator suitable for slowing both light and heavy polar molecules. Two typical polar molecular species, ND 3 and 205 TlF, are employed to test the feasibility of our scheme with the help of trajectory calculation. Our proposed scheme is found to share many advantages with the state-of-the-art traveling wave decelerator, yet with relatively simple electronics and flexible operation modes. Sub-millikelvin molecular samples can be conveniently obtained in our decelerator using a combined operation mode. These monochromatic beams are ideal starting points for precise studies of molecular collision, cold chemistry and high-resolution spectroscopy.