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Atom trap trace analysis of krypton isotopes

K. Bailey, Chen, C. Y., Du, X., Y. M. Li, Zheng‐Tian Lu, Thomas P. O’Connor, Linda Young

Published Nov 17, 1999• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A new method of ultrasensitive isotope trace analysis has been developed. This method, based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms, has been used to count individual {sup 85}Kr and {sup 81}Kr atoms present in a natural krypton gas sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10{sup {minus}11} and 10{sup {minus}13}, respectively. This method is free of contamination from other isotopes and elements and can be applied to several different isotope tracers for a wide range of applications. The demonstrated detection efficiency is 1 x 10{sup {minus}7}. System improvements could increase the efficiency by many orders of magnitude.

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arXiv:1408.1794•Europhysics Letters (EPL)•Oct 1, 2014•13 citations
A new method of ultrasensitive isotope trace analysis has been developed. This method, based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms, has been used to count individual {sup 85}Kr and {sup 81}Kr atoms present in a natural krypton gas sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10{sup {minus}11} and 10{sup {minus}13}, respectively. This method is free of contamination from other isotopes and elements and can be applied to several different isotope tracers for a wide range of applications. The demonstrated detection efficiency is 1 x 10{sup {minus}7}. System improvements could increase the efficiency by many orders of magnitude.
A new method of ultrasensitive trace-isotope analysis has been developed based upon the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms. It has been used to count individual {sup 85}Kr and {sup 81}Kr atoms present in a natural krypton sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10{sup {minus}11} and 10{sup {minus}13}, respectively. The atom counts are free of contamination from other isotopes, elements,or molecules. The method is applicable to other trace-isotopes that can be efficiently captured with a magneto-optical trap, and has a broad range of potential applications.
Laser manipulation of neutral atoms has been used to count individual krypton-85 and krypton-81 atoms present in a natural krypton gas sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10(-11) and 10(-13), respectively. This method of isotope trace analysis is free of contamination from other isotopes and elements and can be applied to several different isotope tracers for a wide range of applications. The demonstrated detection efficiency is 1 x 10(-7). System improvements could increase the efficiency by many orders of magnitude.
A new method of ultrasensitive trace-isotope analysis has been developed based upon the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms. It has been used to count individual 85Kr and 81Kr atoms present in a natural krypton sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10−11 and 10−13, respectively. The atom counts are free of contamination from other isotopes, elements, or molecules. The method is applicable to other trace-isotopes that can be efficiently captured with a magneto-optical trap, and has a broad range of potential applications.
A new method of ultrasensitive trace-isotope analysis has been developed based upon the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms. It has been used to count individual 85Kr and 81Kr atoms present in a natural krypton sample with isotopic abundances in the range of 10−11 and 10−13, respectively. The atom counts are free of contamination from other isotopes, elements, or molecules. The method is applicable to other trace-isotopes that can be efficiently captured with a magneto-optical trap, and has a broad range of potential applications.
An Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) system based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms is being developed to count individual {sup 41}Ca atoms present in natural samples with an isotopic abundance of 10{sup -15}. Trapping of all stable calcium isotopes has been demonstrated and single-atom counting has been realized. For the most abundant isotope, {sup 40}Ca (97% isotopic abundance), a magneto-optical trap (MOT) loading rate of 2 x 10{sup 10} atoms/s has been reached at the overall capture efficiency of 1 x 10{sup -4}. System improvements could increase the efficiency by at least an order of magnitude.
The determination of isotope ratios of noble-gas atoms has many applications, e.g. , in physics, nuclear-arms control, and Earth sciences. For several applications, the concentration of specific noble-gas isotopes ( e.g. , Kr and Ar) is so low that single-atom detection is highly desirable for a precise determination of the concentration. As an important step in this direction, we demonstrate the operation of a krypton atom trap trace analysis (ATTA) setup based on a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for metastable Kr atoms excited by all-optical means. Compared to other state-of-the-art techniques for preparing metastable noble-gas atoms, all-optical production is capable of overcoming limitations regarding minimal probe volume and avoiding cross-contamination of the samples. In addition, it allows for a compact and reliable setup. We identify optimal parameters of our experimental setup by employing the most abundant isotope 84 Kr, and demonstrate single-atom detection within a 3D MOT.