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Optics Express

A magneto-optical trap loaded from a pyramidal funnel

R. S. Williamson, P. A. Voytas, Raymond Newell, Thad G Walker

Published Aug 3, 1998• 35 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have demonstrated the transfer of 39 K and 40 K atoms from a magneto-optical funnel (a hollow pyramidal mirror) through a low (0:05 l/s) conductance hole and into a conventional magneto-optical trap (mot) 35 cm away, with an efficiency of approximately six percent. This simple scheme should be useful for experiments requiring high loading rates with minimal contamination from hot untrapped atoms.

DOI
10.1364/oe.3.000111

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We have demonstrated the transfer of 39 K and 40 K atoms from a magneto-optical funnel (a hollow pyramidal mirror) through a low (0:05 l/s) conductance hole and into a conventional magneto-optical trap (mot) 35 cm away, with an efficiency of approximately six percent. This simple scheme should be useful for experiments requiring high loading rates with minimal contamination from hot untrapped atoms.
We investigate the operation of pyramidal magneto-optical traps (MOTs) microfabricated in silicon. Measurements of the loading and loss rates give insights into the role of the nearby surface in the MOT dynamics. Studies of the fluorescence versus laser frequency and intensity allow us to develop a simple theory of operation. The number of 85 Rb atoms trapped in the pyramid is approximately L 6 , where L ≲6 is the size of the pyramid opening in mm. This follows quite naturally from the relation between capture velocity and size and differs from the L 3.6 often used for describing larger MOTs. Our results represent substantial progress towards fully integrated atomic physics experiments and devices.
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 investigate the operation of pyramidal magneto-optical traps (MOTs) microfabricated in silicon. Measurements of the loading and loss rates give insight into the role of the nearby surface in the MOT dynamics. Studies of the fluorescence versus laser frequency and intensity allow us to develop a simple theory of operation. The number of 85Rb atoms trapped in the pyramid is approximately L6, where L . 6 is the size in mm. This follows quite naturally from the relation between capture velocity and size and differs from the L3.6 often used to describe larger MOTs. Our results constitute substantial progress towards fully integrated atomic physics experiments and devices.
We have realized a 4-beam pyramidal magneto-optical trap ideally suited for future microfabrication. Three mirrors split and steer a single incoming beam into a tripod of reflected beams, allowing trapping in the four-beam overlap volume. We discuss the influence of mirror angle on cooling and trapping, finding optimum efficiency in a tetrahedral configuration. We demonstrate the technique using an ex-vacuo mirror system to illustrate the previously inaccessible supra-plane pyramid MOT configuration. Unlike standard pyramidal MOTs both the pyramid apex and its mirror angle are non-critical and our MOT offers improved molasses free from atomic shadows in the laser beams. The MOT scheme naturally extends to a 2-beam refractive version with high optical access. For quantum gas experiments, the mirror system could also be used for a stable 3D tetrahedral optical lattice.