Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Letters

Single-beam atom trap in a pyramidal and conical hollow mirror

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

Published Aug 1, 1996• 175 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1364/ol.21.001177

Related papers

Cold Atoms in a Hollow Mirror Trap

J. A. Kim, K. I. Lee, Hyunchul Nha +2 more

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.

International Journal of Modern Physics B•Nov 10, 1997•0 citations

A simple atom trap using frequency modulated diode laser

W. Jhe

We have built a compact extended cavity diode laser system having microwave sidebands. Using the laser system, we could separate two stable isotopes of rubidium simultaneously trapped in a magneto-optical trap. We also have realized a very simple atom trap in a pyramid-shaped hollw mirror system and a conical hollow mirror using a single beam.

17th Congress of the International Commission for Optics: Optics for Science and New Technology•Sep 1, 1996•0 citations

Single-beam magneto-optical trap in back-to-back pyramidal and conical mirrors

Timothy H. Nguyen, Mariam Mchedlidze, Guanghui Su +3 more

A three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), acting as an efficient method for producing cold atoms from room-temperature atomic vapor, has been widely used to develop atomic sensors. Various compact MOTs using a single laser beam have been reported, simplifying apparatuses and leading to miniaturized devices. Here, we propose single-beam MOTs based on back-to-back pyramidal and conical mirrors. In such back-to-back mirrors, a MOT trapping volume is formed by an incident laser beam, a retroreflected beam, and multiple reflections from the mirror surfaces. We present the design of back-to-back mirrors and a series of compact MOT configurations, with the potential of increasing access to the MOT and simultaneously creating multiple MOTs. We demonstrate a MOT in a back-to-back conical mirror, loading \ensuremath{\sim}1 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{7}$ ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms from background vapor and cooling the atoms to \ensuremath{\sim}7 \textmu{}K using polarization gradients. Single-beam MOTs based on back-to-back mirrors contribute to building compact and scalable cold-atom-based sensors.

arXiv:2507.07925•Physical Review Applied•Sep 29, 2025•5 citations

Simple atom trap in a hollow mirror and its application to atom optics

Kwanil I. Lee, Jongan I. Kim, Heung-Ruoul Noh +1 more

We present a novel and simple atom trap in a pyramidal and a conical hollow mirror cavity and its application to atom optics. Using a conical axicon mirror trap, we also have produced a pulsed cold atomic beam extracted from the trapped atoms. We point out several novel features of our cold atomic beams.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•May 1, 1997•4 citations

Single-laser, one-beam, tetrahedral magneto-optical trap

Matthieu Vangeleyn, Paul F. Griffin, Ian A. McGregor +2 more

Shimizu et al. demonstrated an alternative of the usual six beam magneto-optical trap (MOT), using four independent beams in a tetrahedral configuration. This paper demonstrates a novel version of the four beam MOT using a triplet of mirrors to split and steer an incoming beam into three parts such that all four beams cross in the correct configuration. In the usual pyramid configuration, the MOT forms below the top surface of the pyramid and the absence of optical access strongly reduces any manipulation of the cold atomic cloud. In addition, a micro-fabricated tetrahedral configuration offers an ideal tool for a high phase stability optical lattice, with the benefit of fixed lattice geometry. In the demonstration setup, the triplet is positioned underneath the quartz vacuum chamber and its thickness had to be considered. Therefore, the angle of the mirrors is slightly more acute than in the ideal situation, resulting in 45Adeg beams, in order to form the MOT above the plate. Moreover, irect modulation of the diode current by a frequency corresponding to the alkali atom energy splitting in order to generate the repumping light is used. The setup was used to cool down87Rb atoms via the F = 2 and F' = 3 energy levels of the D2 transition line. With the traditional cooling/repump lasers, 1.3 x 106atoms were trapped. With a 10mW microwave source, we generated enough repump light into the laser to get 1.1 x 106atoms, that is 85% compared to the two laser setup.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2009•2 citations

Development of a pyramidal magneto-optical trap for pressure sensing application

S. Supakar, Vivek Singh, Yeddanapudi Pavan Kumar +5 more

We report the development and working of a compact rubidium atom magneto-optical trap (MOT) operated with a hollow pyramidal mirror and a single laser beam. This type of compact MOT is suitable for developing portable atom-optic devices as it works with a smaller number of optical components compared with the conventional MOT setup. The application of this compact MOT setup for pressure sensing has been demonstrated.

arXiv:2311.16708•Optical Engineering•May 2, 2024•1 citation
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.
A three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), acting as an efficient method for producing cold atoms from room-temperature atomic vapor, has been widely used to develop atomic sensors. Various compact MOTs using a single laser beam have been reported, simplifying apparatuses and leading to miniaturized devices. Here, we propose single-beam MOTs based on back-to-back pyramidal and conical mirrors. In such back-to-back mirrors, a MOT trapping volume is formed by an incident laser beam, a retroreflected beam, and multiple reflections from the mirror surfaces. We present the design of back-to-back mirrors and a series of compact MOT configurations, with the potential of increasing access to the MOT and simultaneously creating multiple MOTs. We demonstrate a MOT in a back-to-back conical mirror, loading \ensuremath{\sim}1 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} 107{10}^{7}107 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms from background vapor and cooling the atoms to \ensuremath{\sim}7 \textmu{}K using polarization gradients. Single-beam MOTs based on back-to-back mirrors contribute to building compact and scalable cold-atom-based sensors.
Shimizu et al. demonstrated an alternative of the usual six beam magneto-optical trap (MOT), using four independent beams in a tetrahedral configuration. This paper demonstrates a novel version of the four beam MOT using a triplet of mirrors to split and steer an incoming beam into three parts such that all four beams cross in the correct configuration. In the usual pyramid configuration, the MOT forms below the top surface of the pyramid and the absence of optical access strongly reduces any manipulation of the cold atomic cloud. In addition, a micro-fabricated tetrahedral configuration offers an ideal tool for a high phase stability optical lattice, with the benefit of fixed lattice geometry. In the demonstration setup, the triplet is positioned underneath the quartz vacuum chamber and its thickness had to be considered. Therefore, the angle of the mirrors is slightly more acute than in the ideal situation, resulting in 45Adeg beams, in order to form the MOT above the plate. Moreover, irect modulation of the diode current by a frequency corresponding to the alkali atom energy splitting in order to generate the repumping light is used. The setup was used to cool down87Rb atoms via the F = 2 and F' = 3 energy levels of the D2 transition line. With the traditional cooling/repump lasers, 1.3 x 106atoms were trapped. With a 10mW microwave source, we generated enough repump light into the laser to get 1.1 x 106atoms, that is 85% compared to the two laser setup.