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Physical Review A

Cold atomic beam produced by a conical mirror funnel

Kihwan Kim, K. I. Lee, Heung‐Ryoul Noh, Wonho Jhe, Namic Kwon, Motoichi Ohtsu

Published May 31, 2001• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.64.013402

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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×\else\texttimes\fi1010atoms/s2.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{10} \mathrm{atoms}/\mathrm{s}2.2\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi1010atoms/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 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.
Summary form only given. There are two methods to produce a cold atomic beam. One is to use effusive thermal atomic beam, which is decelerated by the force of a counterpropagating laser. The other is to use trapped atoms, which are ejected from magneto-optical trap. Recently, it is reported that an atomic beam has been produced using the second method. We also have produced pulsed cold atomic beam from an axicon trap. It is the simplest setup that employs only a single laser beam to trap the atoms in axicon. The experimental setup was performed with 85 rubidium atoms. To trap atoms, the counterpropagating laser through the hole at an apex is required. When blocking the counterpropagating laser, the trapped atoms are pushed to the hole. So, we could get a pulsed atomic beam. The accelerated atoms are collimated by transverse force from axial symmetric laser inside an axicon.
We demonstrate, for the first time, a hollow-conical atomic beam from a standard low-velocity intense source. Experimental results and numerical simulations indicate that the hollow-conical feature is caused by the converging-diverging extraction process. The degree of hollowness can be reduced by using a weaker push beam and extending the length of transverse cooling. Analytical models are proposed to quantitatively describe the hollowness of the atomic beam. This study can find applications where a compact and solid atomic beam is needed, such as coupling cold atoms into matter waveguides or continuous cold atomic beam interferometers.
We propose an atomic funnel composed of an evanescent-light mirror produced in a conical hollow prism. The funneling of cold Rb atoms released from a magneto-optical trap is simulated in the scheme of the evanescent-light-induced Sisyphus cooling for compensating the heating by gravity. A geometric method of the conversion of a Gaussian light beam into a doughnut-shaped light beam suitable for the atomic funnel is also experimentally demonstrated by means of a double-cone prism. Under the assumption of a proper optical intensity distribution over the inner surface of a specific conical hollow prism, the Monte Carlo simulation including the van der Waals interaction shows that a half of the released Rb atoms can be collected and the mean temperature of the collected atoms is low enough for the application to be guided with a bent hollow optical fiber.