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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)

Improved set-up for the ytterbium optical clock at INRIM

Marco Pizzocaro, Filippo Bregolin, Davide Calonico, Giovanni Antonio Costanzo, Filippo Levi, L. Lorini

Published Jul 1, 2013• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present an upgraded setup for cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms in a optical clock experiment. The experiment aims to cool and trap ytterbium atoms in a two stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) (at 399nm and 556nm for the first and second stage, respectively) and to probe the narrow-line clock transition at 578 nm in an optical lattice at the magic wavelength (759 nm). We describe here the generation of all the laser sources and the design of a new physic package, including the vacuum chamber and the atomic source.

DOI
10.1109/eftf-ifc.2013.6702283

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Chinese Physics B•Oct 1, 2013•14 citations
We present an upgraded setup for cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms in a optical clock experiment. The experiment aims to cool and trap ytterbium atoms in a two stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) (at 399nm and 556nm for the first and second stage, respectively) and to probe the narrow-line clock transition at 578 nm in an optical lattice at the magic wavelength (759 nm). We describe here the generation of all the laser sources and the design of a new physic package, including the vacuum chamber and the atomic source.
We present an optical lattice clock based on ytterbium 171Yb atoms developed in the laboratories of INRIM. In the experiment, we cool and trap ytterbium atoms in a two stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) (at 399nm and 556nm for the first and second stage, respectively). Atoms are then transferred in a horizontal, one-dimensional optical lattice at the magic wavelength (759 nm). Here the clock transition at 578nm is probed by a laser stabilized on an ultra-stable cavity. We describe the generation of all the laser sources, the physic package and the operation of the clock. Lasers at 399 nm, 556nm and 578nm are obtained, with different techniques, using non-linear crystals starting from infrared sources. The clock laser is stabilized using a high finesse notched ULE cavity. The lattice is made with a titanium-sapphire laser. The aluminum vacuum chamber is designed for wide optical access and its temperature is measured by 8 thermistors for blackbody shift evaluation. Our system allows for fast loading of the lattice with 1 × 104atoms trapped in the lattice in 250 ms. We obtained preliminary spectroscopy results and we locked the clock laser to the atomic line. Future perspectives are discussed.
This paper describes the current status of an ytterbium lattice clock under development at KRISS. After the success of 399 nm magneto-optical-trap (MOT) at a temperature 1 mK, we constructed the 2ndstage cooling laser system at a wavelength of 556 nm to cool atoms further down to several muK. We are also developing an ultra-narrow linewidth laser at a wavelength of 578 nm to probe the clock transition by doubling the frequency output of a commercial 1156 nm ECDL. Efforts to reduce the linewidth are under way.
In this thesis, a transportable setup of an Yb atomic source for a lattice optical clock is built and characterized. All three laser setups for cooling and trapping the Yb atoms, together with the vacuum system, are contained on a transportable optical table. The preparation of the atomic sample before doing spectroscopy on the clock transition starts by slowing the atoms in the Zeeman slower. This is followed by trapping the atoms in the pre-cooling and the post-cooling MOTs, before loading the atoms into the optical lattice. Slowing and pre-cooling the atoms is done using the strong transition at 399 nm. This cools the atoms down to around a mK. To successfully load the atoms in the optical lattice, we have to cool the atoms further to beyond 50 μK. This is done by exciting the weak transition at 556 nm. The atoms that are transferred into the post-cooling stage are cooled down to a few tens of μK. The atoms are then ready to be loaded into the optical lattice at the magic wavelength. The amplified laser light at 760 nm inside the 1-D intra-vacuum cavity results in a lattice trapping potential of approximately 50 μK. A transfer efficiency, from the MOT into the optical lattice, of more than 25% was measured. The spectroscopy on the clock transition was done for 171Yb. A step-by-step mechanism was adopted, starting by exciting the forbidden transition at 578 nm inside the post-cooling stage MOT, by using the ”chopped-MOT” method. The 300 kHz Doppler-broadened line is then narrowed down to 3 kHz by switching on the light at 760 nm, while keeping the MOT on. The so-called ”chopped-lattice” technique helped suppress the Doppler-broadening; however the other effects due to the light and the magnetic fields of the MOT were still present. By switching off the MOT’s light and magnetic fields, the Yb atoms are completely trapped in the optical lattice. As a result, the FWHM of the spectroscopy line was reduced by a factor of 10.
Optical lattice clocks based on ytterbium (Yb) and strontium (Sr) are emerging as key technologies in precision timekeeping and metrology. Recent advancements in miniaturization and transportability are making them increasingly accessible for applications outside traditional laboratory settings. However, the degree of miniaturization is limited by the atomic source that is used to provide laser-cooled atoms for the clock spectroscopy. Conventional atomic sources for optical lattice clocks consist of a high-power oven and a magneto-optical trap (MOT) that requires six incident laser beams for three-dimensional trapping and cooling. Here, we present technologies that allow a significant miniaturization of the required experimental setups to realize a MOT for Yb and Sr. These are a chip-based microstructured atomic oven and in-vacuum optical elements that require only a single incident laser beam to generate all of the required beams for three-dimensional trapping and cooling. The oven was manufactured with LIDE® (laser induced deep etching). It was paired with an aluminum pyramid reflector to load Yb atoms into a MOT. The oven was placed directly at the outside of the reflector, forming a compact setup that is used for atom evaporation and direct trapping and cooling. In this configuration, MOT loading rates above 10^8 atoms/s were measured for oven heating powers below 250 mW. Furthermore, the microstructured oven was paired with a grating MOT chip inside a highly compact vacuum chamber. The chamber was additively manufactured from titanium and the assembled setup spans a volume of less than 750 ml. In this setup, up to 10^5 Sr atoms were trapped in the MOT.
Experiments on trapping ytterbium atoms in various optical lattices are presented. After the two-stage cooling, first in a blue magneto—optical trap and then in a green magneto—optical trap, the ultracold 171 Yb atoms are successfully loaded into one-, two-, and three-dimensional optical lattices operating at the Stark-free wavelength, respectively. The temperature, number, and lifetime of cold 171 Yb atoms in one-dimensional lattice are measured. After optimization, the one-dimensional lattice with cold 171 Yb atoms is used for developing an ytterbium optical clock.