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Optics Letters

Atom trap in an axicon mirror

Jiho Kim, K. I. Lee, Heung‐Ryoul Noh, Wonho Jhe, Motoichi Ohtsu

Published Jan 15, 1997• 50 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have realized a novel atom trap in an axicon (conical hollow) mirror, using a frequency-modulated, single-diode laser. Different spatial distributions of trapped atoms such as a ball and a ring are observed. We show that our numerical simulations are consistent with experimental results. In particular, the ring diameter is found to be approximately the separation between the mirror axis and the magnetic field axis. The axicon trap may be useful as a precooled atom source for cold atomic beams, atom funnels, and atom waveguides.

DOI
10.1364/ol.22.000117

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•Jan 1, 1999•1 citation
We have realized a novel atom trap in an axicon (conical hollow) mirror, using a frequency-modulated, single-diode laser. Different spatial distributions of trapped atoms such as a ball and a ring are observed. We show that our numerical simulations are consistent with experimental results. In particular, the ring diameter is found to be approximately the separation between the mirror axis and the magnetic field axis. The axicon trap may be useful as a precooled atom source for cold atomic beams, atom funnels, and atom waveguides.
We have obtained and characterized a cold atomic beam produced by a simple conical atom funnel, which consists of a conical hollow mirror (axicon) with a small hole at the apex and a single incident laser beam. Atoms trapped in the axicon mirror are ejected by the radiation-pressure imbalance along the extraction column. The atomic beam has a longitudinal velocity in the range of 4 to 6 m/s, a divergence of 150 mrad, and a maximum instantaneous flux of $2.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{10} \mathrm{atoms}/\mathrm{s}$ in a pulsed operation. The experimental results are in quantitative agreement with the numerical simulations. A continuous atomic beam is also possible with an apex hole smaller than the trapped atomic cloud.
We present a novel and simple magneto-optical trap in pyramidal and in conical hollow mirrors, using a single beam. A diode laser having modulation sidebands at microwaves is used for cooling, trapping, and repumping of rubidium atoms in a vapor cell. When the laser is circularly polarized and sent into the hollow region, three pairs of counterpropagating beams are automatically produced therein that have the same polarization configuration as that of a conventional six-beam magneto-optical trap. The fluorescence by the trapped atoms and its mirror image are observed simultaneously. This system may be useful for atom-manipulation applications such as gravitational atom traps and atom waveguides.
We present a novel and simple vapour-cell magneto-optical atom trap in a pyramidal and a conical hollow mirror cavity. A single laser beam having modulation sidebands at microwaves is used for cooling, trapping and repumping of rubidium atoms. When the laser is circularly polarized and sent into the hollow region, three pairs of counterpropagating beams are automatically produced therein, having the same polarization configuration as in the conventional six beam magneto-optical trap. The precooled atom sources thus produced may be used to obtain much colder and denser atoms for study of their quantum statistical properties.
One of the more promising proposals for guiding and focusing neutral atoms involves dark hollow laser beams. When the frequency of the laser is detuned to the blue of resonance, the dipole force the atoms feel in the light confines them to the dark core where the atoms can be transported with minimal interaction with the light. The ability of the all-light atom guides to transport large number of ultracold atoms for long distances without physical walls leads to the possibility of a versatile tool for atom lithography, atom interferometry, atomic spectroscopy as well as for transporting and manipulating Bose-Einstein condensates. Furthermore since the atoms transported in all-light atom guides do not come into contact with matter, they can in principle be used to transport antimatter as well. In this work a hollow beam atom tunnel is demonstrated by guiding magneto-optically trapped ultracold cesium atoms with a hollow core laser beam. The 1mm diameter diffractionless hollow beam used to construct the atom tunnel was generated from a TEM00 mode diode laser at 852 nm using a series of axicons and simple lenses. The axicon generated hollow beam has a dark core extended for most of its diameter and