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Physical Review Letters

Atom funnel for the production of a slow, high-density atomic beam

Erling Riis, David S. Weiss, Kathryn A. Moler, Steven Chu

Published Apr 2, 1990• 146 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A new scheme has been developed that produces a slow atomic beam of high brightness with a narrow velocity distribution. The technique can provide long measurement times and high counting rates for future precision experiments. In our initial work, densities of ${10}^{8}$ Na atoms/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ at a velocity of 270 cm/sec and at a temperature of \ensuremath{\sim}200 \ensuremath{\mu}K were obtained.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.64.1658

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A new scheme has been developed that produces a slow atomic beam of high brightness with a narrow velocity distribution. The technique can provide long measurement times and high counting rates for future precision experiments. In our initial work, densities of 108{10}^{8}108 Na atoms/cm3{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}cm3 at a velocity of 270 cm/sec and at a temperature of \ensuremath{\sim}200 \ensuremath{\mu}K were obtained.
We have developed a slow, highly collimated, and bright sodium atom beam suitable for orientation and alignment studies in cold collisions. A combination of transverse-optical collimation, longitudinal cooling, rapid decoupling from the longitudinal cooling cycle, and a final “optical-force extrusion” stage produces an atom density of 1×1010 cm−3 within a beam-divergence solid angle of 2×10−6 sr. Rapid Zeeman-cooler decoupling results in a narrow laboratory velocity distribution of 5 m/s full width at half maximum and a cold binary intrabeam collision temperature of 4 mK.
The measurement on energy levels suitable for time standards can be made more precise with the use of neutral atom manipulation techniques. We have created a fountain of atoms where the measurement time of atoms in ballistic free-fall can be on the order of a fraction of a second. With these long measurement times, the linewidth of the transition between the ground state hyperfine transition of sodium was measured to be 2 Hz. Transitions in the optical frequency range could then have Q's of 1014 to 1015. In addition to creating high Q resonances, it is desirable to have a continuous, high density fountain of atoms. Towards this end, we have constructed an "atomic funnel" capable of creating a cold, high flux stream of atoms suitable for injection into a continuous atomic fountain. In the first embodiment of the funnel, the brightness of the atomic beam (defined as the number of atoms per second/( ΔvxΔvyΔvz) was increased by a factor of 3 × 103. With more recent improvements for both funneling more atoms from the hot atomic beam and better use of polarization gradient cooling to launch the atoms, we will describe how to improve the brightness enhancement by another four orders of magnitude.
A number of experimental applications of laser cooling of neutral atoms are described. In an experiment on atomic fountains, laser-cooled atoms pushed up on a vertical trajectory by radiation pressure were observed to turn around due to gravity. A compact cesium fountain that would give three to four orders of magnitude increase in the counting rate over the first experiment can be designed, and the trapping and cooling can be done with diode lasers, suggesting a practical clock. In order to increase the time-averaged flux of such a fountain and also create a continuous fountain, an atomic funnel that can produce an atomic beam of very low velocity ( approximately 270 cm/s) at densities of 10/sup 8/ atoms/cm/sup 2/ has been devised.>
We have developed a rubidium atomic funnel for use as a matter-wave source in experiments in atom interferometry and atom optics. The funnel utilizes the techniques of laser cooling and trapping to produce a low-velocity beam of cold rubidium atoms. Atoms from a thermal beam are first slowed in a tapered magnetic field using 1D Zeeman slowing. The atoms are then loaded into a 2D magneto-optic trap or atomic funnel. The trap cools and compresses the atoms, which are then ejected from the trap by moving molasses formed with frequency-shifted laser beams. These slow atoms will be diffracted by microfabricated transmission gratings as part of a three-grating atom interferometer.