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Physical Review A

Sympathetic cooling of laser-produced doubly charged ions in a few-ion crystal

T. Kwapień, U. Eichmann, Wolfgang Sandner

Published Jun 21, 2007• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present experimental results in which single ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ ions in a chain of laser cooled ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ ions are further ionized by means of an intense short pulse laser. The ions are trapped in a linear Paul trap, which is instantaneously loaded by ions from a laser-produced ablation plasma. Due to sympathetic cooling the doubly charged ions are held in place. We study and characterize linear few-ion crystals with mixed charges by applying a radio frequency field, which excites the center of mass (c.m.) and breathing modes of different configurations. From the position shift of laser cooled ions initiated through the higher charge state we can deduce the charge of the nonfluorescing ion. This information might be used as an intensity probe for high intensity lasers.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.75.063418

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•Feb 14, 2012•0 citations

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IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement•Apr 1, 2001•3 citations
We present experimental results in which single Ca+{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}Ca+ ions in a chain of laser cooled Ca+{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}Ca+ ions are further ionized by means of an intense short pulse laser. The ions are trapped in a linear Paul trap, which is instantaneously loaded by ions from a laser-produced ablation plasma. Due to sympathetic cooling the doubly charged ions are held in place. We study and characterize linear few-ion crystals with mixed charges by applying a radio frequency field, which excites the center of mass (c.m.) and breathing modes of different configurations. From the position shift of laser cooled ions initiated through the higher charge state we can deduce the charge of the nonfluorescing ion. This information might be used as an intensity probe for high intensity lasers.
We investigate the dynamics of an ion sympathetically cooled by another laser-cooled ion or small ion crystal. To this end, we develop simple models of the cooling dynamics in the limit of weak Coulomb interactions. Experimentally, we create a two-ion crystal of Ca + and Al + by photo-ionization of neutral atoms produced by laser ablation. We characterize the velocity distribution of the laser-ablated atoms crossing the trap by time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. We observe neutral atom velocities much higher than the ones of thermally heated samples and find as a consequence long sympathethic cooling times before crystallization occurs. Our key result is a new technique for detecting the loading of an initially hot ion with energy in the eV range by monitoring the motional state of a Doppler-cooled ion already present in the trap. This technique not only detects the ion but also provides information about the dynamics of the sympathetic cooling process.
We report on the sympathetic cooling and Coulomb crystallization of xenon highly charged ions (HCIs) with laser-cooled Ca+^++ ions. The HCIs are produced in a compact electron beam ion trap, then charge selected, decelerated, and finally injected into a cryogenic linear Paul trap. There, they are captured into 40^{40}40Ca+^++ Coulomb crystals, and co-crystallized within them, causing dark voids in their fluorescence images. Fine control over the number of trapped ions and HCIs allows us to realize mixed-species crystals with arbitrary ordering patterns. By investigating Xeq+^{q+}q+--Ca+^++ strings, we confirm the HCI charge states, measure their lifetime and characterize the mixed-species motional modes. Our system effectively combines the established quantum control toolbox for Ca+^++ with the rich set of atomic properties of Xe highly charged ions, providing a resourceful platform for optical frequency metrology, searches for signatures of new physics, and quantum information science.
A detailed investigation of ion crystals produced by laser and sympathetic cooling in a linear RF trap has been conducted.\n\nThe laser cooling methods were examined and applied to the trapped ^24Mg^(positive) ions. The crystals produced by the laser cooling were studied, including the dependence on RF voltage, end cap DC voltage, laser power and laser frequency. By manipulating the different RF voltages and endcap DC voltages, the structure phase transition of the ion crystals was observed.\n\nIn addition, the sympathetic cooling of different ion species with the laser cooled 24Mg^(positive) was carried out. In this process, the mixed Mg^(positive) and He^(positive) crystals were created andidentified, and mixed Mg^(positive) and H2^(positive) crystals were produced. The effect of an unwanted chemical reaction of Mg^(positive) and H2 was observed and minimized. After sympathetic cooling of light ion species, the sympathetic cooling of heavy molecular ions such as fullerene ions was also carried out. The efficiencies and final temperature in both cases are very different. Theoretically to interpret the results, molecular dynamics simulations of the laser cooling and sympathetic cooling were implemented. And the simulations were compared with the experimental results.\n\nIn the process of carrying out this research, the optics were rebuilt to provide reliable UV sources for the photoionization and laser cooling of Mg ions. The imaging\nsystem was reconfigured to take the images of ion crystals. New elements were added tin the ion trap to improve the ability to manipulate ions.
We report the sympathetic cooling and Coulomb crystallization of xenon highly charged ions (HCIs) with laser-cooled Ca+ ions. The HCIs are produced in a compact electron beam ion trap, then charge selected, decelerated, and finally injected into a cryogenic linear Paul trap. There, they are captured into 40 Ca+ Coulomb crystals, and cocrystallized within them, causing dark voids in their fluorescence images. Fine control over the number of trapped ions and HCIs allows us to realize mixed-species crystals with arbitrary ordering patterns. By investigating Xeq+ − Ca+ strings, we confirm the HCI charge states, measure their lifetime, and characterize the mixed-species motional modes. Our system effectively combines the established quantum control toolbox for Ca+ with the rich set of atomic properties of Xe highly charged ions, providing a resourceful platform for optical frequency metrology, searches for signatures of new physics, and quantum information science.
This paper reports on trapping and laser-cooling of singly-ionized strontium ions in a linear Paul trap. We demonstrate loading of large ion clouds containing as much as 106 ions and laser cooling down to the Coulomb crystal transition. We observe the spatial segregation of the different Sr+ isotopes due to the mass-dependent Paul trap stiffness. Sympathetic cooling of the different isotopes is demonstrated, either by laser-cooling of 88Sr+ (83% abundance) or of 86Sr+ (10% abundance). These demonstrations open the way to the use of a large ion Coulomb crystal for quantum optics and quantum information experiments, where the strong confinement, the long lifetime, and the absence of perturbation by cooling lasers are crucial.