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arXiv:2004.10298 · Review of Scientific Instruments

Crossed-beam slowing to enhance narrow-line ytterbium magneto-optic traps

Benjamin Plotkin-Swing, Anna Wirth-Singh, Daniel Gochnauer, Tahiyat Rahman, Katherine E. McAlpine, Subhadeep Gupta

Published Sep 1, 2020• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate a method to enhance the atom loading rate of a ytterbium (Yb) magneto-optic trap (MOT) operating on the 556 nm 1S0 → 3P1 intercombination transition (narrow linewidth Γg = 2π × 182 kHz). Following traditional Zeeman slowing of an atomic beam near the 399 nm 1S0 → 1P1 transition (broad linewidth Γp = 2π × 29 MHz), two laser beams in a crossed-beam geometry, frequency tuned near the same transition, provide additional slowing immediately prior to the MOT. Using this technique, we observe an improvement by a factor of 6 in the atom loading rate of a narrow-line Yb MOT. The relative simplicity and generality of this approach make it readily adoptable to other experiments involving narrow-line MOTs. We also present a numerical simulation of this two-stage slowing process, which shows good agreement with the observed dependence on experimental parameters, and use it to assess potential improvements to the method.

DOI
10.1063/5.0011361

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We demonstrate a method to enhance the atom loading rate of a ytterbium (Yb) magneto-optic trap (MOT) operating on the 556 nm 1S0 → 3P1 intercombination transition (narrow linewidth Γg = 2π × 182 kHz). Following traditional Zeeman slowing of an atomic beam near the 399 nm 1S0 → 1P1 transition (broad linewidth Γp = 2π × 29 MHz), two laser beams in a crossed-beam geometry, frequency tuned near the same transition, provide additional slowing immediately prior to the MOT. Using this technique, we observe an improvement by a factor of 6 in the atom loading rate of a narrow-line Yb MOT. The relative simplicity and generality of this approach make it readily adoptable to other experiments involving narrow-line MOTs. We also present a numerical simulation of this two-stage slowing process, which shows good agreement with the observed dependence on experimental parameters, and use it to assess potential improvements to the method.
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) based on the 626-nm, 136-kHz-wide intercombination line of Dy, which has an attractively low Doppler temperature of $3.3\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$, have been implemented in a growing number of experiments over the last several years. A challenge in loading these MOTs comes from their low capture velocities. Slowed atomic beams can spread out significantly during free flight from the Zeeman slower to the MOT position, reducing the fraction of the beam captured by the MOT. Here we apply a scheme for enhancing the loading rate of the MOT wherein atoms are Zeeman slowed to a final velocity larger than the MOT's capture velocity and then undergo a final stage of slowing by a pair of near-detuned beams addressing the 421-nm transition directly in front of the MOT. By reducing the free-flight time of the Zeeman-slowed atomic beam, we greatly enhance the slowed flux delivered to the MOT, leading to more than an order-of-magnitude enhancement in the final MOT population.
We report the magneto-optical trapping of ytterbium atoms using the 6s2 1S0-6s6p 3P1 intercombination transition. The magneto-optical trap is continuously loaded from an atomic beam decelerated by a Zeeman-tuned atomic-beam slower operated at the 6s2 1S0-6s6p 1P1 transition. Among seven stable isotopes of ytterbium, six isotopes of 170Yb, 171Yb, 172Yb, 173Yb, 174Yb, and 176Yb are successfully trapped. The number and density of the trapped atoms are about 108 and 1011 cm-3, respectively. The temperature of atoms is estimated to be about 20 μK from the time-of-flight measurement. The decay time of the trapped atoms after stopping the loading of atoms is about 3 s.
We demonstrate efficient loading of an Yb three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT) on the 1S0 → 1P1 transition. The experiment employs a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT) as an efficient cold atom source. Through optimization of the 2D MOT, auxiliary Zeeman slower, and push beam parameters that govern atomic capture, we achieve an atomic loading rate of 5 × 106 atoms/s in the 3D MOT, with approximately ∼107 trapped atoms. Our experimental results confirm the successful transfer of a substantial number of atoms from the 2D region to the science chamber via the push beam, providing an experimental foundation for subsequent implementation of narrow-line MOT and two-color MOT.
We analyzed bichromatic and polychromatic stimulated forces for laser cooling and trapping of Yb atoms using only the narrow ${}^{1}{S}_{0}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}}^{3}{P}_{1}$ transition. Our model is based on numerical solutions of optical Bloch equations for two-level atoms driven by multiple time-dependent fields combined with Monte Carlo simulations, which account for realistic experimental conditions such as atomic beam divergence, geometry, and Gaussian laser modes. Using 1 W of laser power, we predict a loading rate of $\ensuremath{\approx}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{10}^{8}$ atoms/s into a 556-nm magneto-optical trap (MOT) with a slowing force of $\ensuremath{\approx}60{F}_{\text{rad}}$. We show that a square-wave modulation can produce similar stimulated forces with almost twice the velocity range and improve the MOT loading rate of Yb atoms by up to 70%.
We report the experimental realization of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) of 174 Yb atoms operating on the 1 So− 3 P 1 intercombination transition at 555.8 nm. The green MOT is loaded by a Zeeman-slowed atomic beam. In order to increase the capture velocity of the MOT, we use the trapping laser beams consisting of five discrete frequency components obtained by modulating the laser light through an electro-optic modulator. The trapped atomic number of the 174 Yb isotope is about 6.2 × 10 5 , and the temperature of the cold atomic cloud is estimated to be about 100 μK. The success of the green MOT is an important step towards the goal of an ytterbium optical clock.
We report on a scheme for loading dysprosium atoms into a narrow-line three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT). Our approach replaces the conventional Zeeman slower with a two-dimensional (2D) MOT operating on the broad 421-nm line to create a high-flux beam of slow atoms. Even in the absence of a push beam, we demonstrate efficient loading of the 3D MOT, which operates on the narrower 626-nm intercombination line. Adding push beams working at either 421 nm or 626 nm, significant enhancement of the loading rate is achieved. We reach the best performance, with an enhancement factor of 3.6, using a push beam red-detuned to the 626-nm line. With loading rates greater than 108atoms/s{10}^{8}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\text{atoms/s}108atoms/s achieved at a moderate oven reservoir temperature of ${800}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{C}$, our method offers similar or greater performance than Zeeman-slower-based systems. Our 2D-MOT-based approach constitutes a promising first step towards state-of-the-art quantum gas experiments with several advantages over the Zeeman-slower-based setup and is readily adaptable to other open-shell lanthanides.