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Journal of Applied Physics

Fast loading of a magneto-optical trap from a pulsed thermal source

József Fortágh, Alexander Grossmann, Theodor W. Hänsch, Claus Zimmermann

Published Dec 15, 1998• 72 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report an efficient method to load atoms into a magneto-optical trap. A resistively heated alkali metal dispenser, which is mounted close to the trapping region, serves as a compact, pulsed source for Rb atoms. The atoms are captured by the magneto-optical trap within less than 3 s at a loading rate of more than 107 atoms per second. The lifetime of the trapped atoms exceeds the filling time by about 30 s.

DOI
10.1063/1.369018

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We report an efficient method to load atoms into a magneto-optical trap. A resistively heated alkali metal dispenser, which is mounted close to the trapping region, serves as a compact, pulsed source for Rb atoms. The atoms are captured by the magneto-optical trap within less than 3 s at a loading rate of more than 107 atoms per second. The lifetime of the trapped atoms exceeds the filling time by about 30 s.
We report on a directional atomic beam created using an alkali metal dispenser and a nozzle. By applying a high current (15 A) pulse to the dispenser at room temperature we can rapidly heat it to a temperature at which it starts dispensing, avoiding the need for preheating. The atomic beam produced is capable of loading 90% of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) in less than 7 s while maintaining a low vacuum pressure of <10(-11) Torr. The transverse velocity components of the atomic beam are measured to be within typical capture velocities of a rubidium MOT. Finally, we show that the atomic beam can be turned off within 1.8 s.
We have obtained fast loading of a rubidium magneto-optical trap and very high collection efficiency by capturing the atoms desorbed by a light flash from a polydimethylsiloxane film deposited on the internal surface of a cell. The atoms are trapped with an effective loading time of about 65 ms at a loading rate greater than $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}$ atoms per second. This rate is larger than the values reported in literature and is obtained by preserving a long lifetime of the trapped atoms. This lifetime exceeds the filling time by nearly two orders of magnitude. Trap loading by light-induced desorption from siloxane compounds can be very effectively applied to store and trap a large number of atoms in the case of very weak atomic flux or extremely low vapor density. It can be also effectively used for fast production of ultracold atoms.
Abstract Here, we present studies on pulsed loading of a rubidium (Rb) magneto-optical trap (MOT) in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment on an atom chip. We have used a parallel combination of Rb dispensers for better heat dissipation to achieve fast UHV recovery in the chamber after the end of the current pulse to the dispensers. We have estimated the threshold heat energy required for activation of the dispensers for different values of current pulses. Although a pulse with a higher current value and shorter duration has a lower threshold heat energy, we operated the dispensers at moderate current pulse parameters (24 A, 10 s) for protection of the circuits. Nearly, 3 × 10 7 cold 87 Rb atoms were loaded in the MOT using this current pulse, with a UHV recovery time of ∼600 ms in the chamber. This fast recovery of UHV in the MOT chamber is useful for further experiments such as magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling of atoms in the same chamber.
We have developed an improved scheme for loading atoms into a magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a directed rubidium alkali metal dispenser in <10−10Torr ultrahigh vacuum conditions. A current-driven dispenser was surrounded with a cold absorbing “shroud” held at ⩽0°C, pumping rubidium atoms not directed into the MOT. This nearly eliminates background atoms and reduces the detrimental rise in pressure normally associated with these devices. The system can be well-described as a current-controlled, rapidly switched, two-temperature thermal beam, and was used to load a MOT with 3×108atoms.
This study presents investigations on pulsed loading of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) on an atom chip in an UHV environment. Using three parallel resistively heated Rb-metal dispensers activated by pulsed current supply, approximately 3.0 ×\times× 10710^{7}107 cold 87Rb^{87}Rb87Rb atoms were loaded into the MOT. A current pulse of ∼\sim∼ 24 A with duration of ∼\sim∼ 10 s raised the pressure in the chamber from 2.0 ×\times× 10−1010^{-10}10−10 Torr to 3.3 ×\times× 10−1010^{-10}10−10 Torr. Remarkably, the pressure recovery time after switching off the dispensers current was found to be ∼\sim∼ 600 ms, making a significant advancement in achieving fast recovery of UHV environment surrounding the MOT region. This study is very useful for laser cooling and magnetic trapping / evaporative cooling of atoms on atom chip in the same UHV chamber.
Magneto-optical traps are central to atomic and molecular quantum technologies and precision tests of fundamental physics, where both sensitivity and bandwidth scale strongly with atom number and loading rate. We demonstrate that employing multiple, closely spaced optical frequency components in the cooling light of a 87^{87}87Rb magneto-optical trap -- without utilizing any additional slowing techniques -- can double the steady state atom number and increase the loading rate by up to a factor of 4, compared to a conventional single-frequency implementation. Subsequently, we capture up to 1.0(1)×10101.0(1)\times10^{10}1.0(1)×1010 atoms with a loading rate of up to 1.3(2)×1011 atoms s−11.3(2)\times 10^{11}\,\mathrm{atoms\,s^{-1}}1.3(2)×1011atomss−1 from a thermal background. Numerical simulations reproduce the observed trends and predict substantially larger gains for increased trap sizes beyond our experimental bounds. By re-examining earlier studies of multi-frequency atom capture in the context of modern experimental hardware and emerging applications, we show that previously identified limitations can be avoided and establish multi-frequency cooling as a practical and scalable route to high-flux cold-atom sources. These results have immediate applications in portable atom-based quantum sensing, where higher bandwidth and precision can be achieved without forgoing compactness, and in atom-interferometric tests of fundamental physics, which benefit from access to larger-mass quantum systems.