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arXiv:2111.04160 · New Journal of Physics

An optical elevator for precise delivery of cold atoms using an acousto-optical deflector

Francesco Ferri, Arthur La Rooij, Claire Lebouteiller, Pierre-Antoine Bourdel, Mohamed Baghdad, Sylvain Schwartz, Sébastien Garcia, Jakob Reichel, Romain Long

Published Mar 21, 2022• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We implement a simple method for fast and precise delivery of ultracold atoms to a microscopic device, i.e. a Fabry–Perot microcavity. By moving a single beam optical dipole trap in a direction perpendicular to the beam axis with an acousto-optical deflector, we transport up to 1 million atoms within 100 ms over 1 cm. Under these conditions, a transport efficiency above 95% is achieved with only minimal heating. The atomic cloud is accurately positioned within the microcavity and transferred into an intra-cavity optical lattice. With the addition of a secondary guiding beam, we show how residual sloshing motion along the shallow axis of the trap can be minimized.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ac5f84

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The coupling of individual atoms to a high-finesse optical cavity is precisely controlled and adjusted using a standing-wave dipole-force trap, a challenge for strong atom-cavity coupling. Ultracold Rubidium atoms are first loaded into potential minima of the dipole trap in the center of the cavity. Then we use the trap as a conveyor belt that we set into motion perpendicular to the cavity axis. This allows us to repetitively move atoms out of and back into the cavity mode with a repositioning precision of 135 nm. This makes it possible to either selectively address one atom of a string of atoms by the cavity, or to simultaneously couple two precisely separated atoms to a higher mode of the cavity.
Abstract We report our method for transporting ultracold atoms over macroscopic distances and trapping them back in a vertical mixed trap, consisting of the superposition of a vertical lattice and a transverse confinement beam. The transport is performed with Bloch oscillations allowing us to move up to 25 % of a sub-micro-Kelvin atomic cloud on a distance of the order of 30 cm, without excessive heating and with an excellent control of its final position. The efficiency is lowered to about 10 % after trapping them in the vertical mixed trap during extended times.
Efficient transport of cold atoms is essential for continuous operation, enabling applications ranging from atomic lasers to continuously operated qubits. However, deep potentials required to overcome vibrations, axial trap nonuniformity and insufficient cooling have limited transport of cold atoms near quantum degeneracy. Here we demonstrate rapid optical transport of cold atoms to Bose-Einstein condensation using a moving optical lattice formed by two Bessel beams. A gas of 3×1053 \times 10^53×105 ytterbium atoms at a temperature of 340 340\,340nK is transported over 34 34\,34cm in 350 350\,350ms with efficiency over 60%60\%60%. Furthermore, a degenerate gas of 1×1051 \times 10^51×105 atoms with a 40%40\%40% condensate fraction emerges from the phase synchronization process driven by atomic interactions. This demonstration enables the fast preparation of ultracold atomic beams and large-scale atom arrays for quantum sensing, simulation and computing.
We present a laser beam shaping method using acousto-optic deflection of light and discuss its application to dipole trapping of ultracold atoms. By driving the acousto-optic deflector with multiple frequencies, we generate an array of overlapping diffraction-limited beams that combine to form an arbitrary-shaped smooth and continuous trapping potential. Confinement of atoms in a flat-bottomed potential formed by a laser beam with uniform intensity over its central region confers numerous advantages over the harmonic confinement intrinsic to Gaussian beam dipole traps and many other trapping schemes. We demonstrate the versatility of this beam shaping method by generating potentials with large flat-topped regions as well as intensity patterns that compensate for residual external potentials to create a uniform background to which the trapping potential of experimental interest can be added.
Abstract Optically trapped laser-cooled polar molecules hold promise for new science and technology in quantum information and quantum simulation. Large numerical aperture optical access and long trap lifetimes are needed for many studies, but these requirements are challenging to achieve in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) vacuum chamber that is connected to a cryogenic buffer gas beam source, as is the case for all molecule laser cooling experiments so far. Long distance transport of molecules greatly eases fulfilling these requirements as molecules are placed into a region separate from the MOT chamber. We realize a fast transport method for ultracold molecules based on an electronically focus-tunable lens combined with an optical lattice. The high transport speed is achieved by the 1D red-detuned optical lattice, which is generated by interference of a focus-tunable laser beam and a focus-fixed laser beam. Efficiency of 48(8)% is realized in the transport of ultracold calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules over 46 cm distance in 50 ms, with a moderate heating from 32(2) μK to 53(4) μK. Positional stability of the molecular cloud allows for stable loading of an optical tweezer array with single molecules.