A data acquisition system is described that is designed to stabilize cooling and probe rates to maximize detection sensitivity and minimize possible systematic errors due to correlations between drifting experimental conditions and varying drive parameters. Experimental parameters that affect the Yb171 5D3/2 hyperfine state preparation and detection efficiency are characterized and optimized. A set of wait times for optimal sampling of the D3/2(F=2) lifetime is chosen and used to measure that lifetime with high statistical sensitivity. A systematic variation in this lifetime seems to be apparent. The source of the variation was not identified, but ion number and cooling rate appear to be ruled out. A net determination is made of tau=61.8ms+-(0.6)_stat+-(6.4)_sys which is significantly longer than other measurements of the same quantity. An alternate shelving scheme is proposed that would provide S-D state discrimination for Yb even isotopes as well as improved sensitivity for D state hyperfine discrimination in odd isotopes.
Compared to other stable isotopes of
Yb+,
173Yb+ has a richer hyperfine structure, which leads to more favorable clock transitions, spectroscopic techniques for probing new physics, and more sophisticated quantum computing architectures. However, to date, its electronic spectrum remains poorly characterized. Here, we report on efficient laser cooling, state preparation, and detection of a single trapped
173Yb+ ion. The previously unobserved
2S1/2→2D3/2 electric quadrupole transition at 436 nm is coherently excited, and the isotope shift between
171Yb+ and
173Yb+ on this transition is determined with an uncertainty of 1.4 Hz. Using microwave spectroscopy, we resolve the hyperfine structure (HFS) of the
2D3/2 state with a relative uncertainty below
10−8. From the HFS measurement data, we infer for
173Yb a nuclear magnetic octupole moment
Ω=−0.062(8)(b×μN) with uncertainty reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude compared to previous studies. The data also allow us to determine hyperfine anomalies for the
2S1/2 and
2D3/2 states.
We present a method to precisely determine the
2D3/2 state lifetime of a single trapped
174Yb+ ion. This method is based on the detection of photons emitted from excited states, where a highly synchronized measurement sequence for laser control and an intensity-alternating sequence for atomic excitation and photon counting are used to minimize systematic errors. This method is easy to implement and is immune to fluctuations of magnetic field, laser intensity, and frequency detuning. Combined with the real-time approach of background photon correction, the radiative lifetime of the
2D3/2 state is determined to be $54.83\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.18$ ms, which represents an order of magnitude improvement in measurement precision. The accurately determined lifetime sets a benchmark for many-body atomic theories and is particularly useful to determine the coherence time limit of the optical clock.
Fluorescence of single, trapped
171Yb+ ions has been experimentally studied as a function of laser polarization, power, and detuning and as a function of magnetic field strength. The suppression of efficient fluorescence by coherent population trapping and the counteracting effect of the magnetic field are found to agree with theoretical predictions. For comparison, a fluorescence study has also been made of the isotope
174Yb+ for which coherent population trapping is absent on the main fluorescence and laser cooling transition. Finally, state-sensitive fluorescence detection of the
171Yb+ hyperfine qubit is studied, including the role of coherent population trapping in the optimization of detection parameters. A qubit detection fidelity of greater than
97 is achieved.
A generalized probe sequence typical of trapped ion experiments using shelving is studied. Detection efficiency is analyzed for finite shelved state lifetimes and using multi-modal count distributions. Multi-modal distributions are more appropriate for measurements that use a small number of ions than the simple Poisson counting statistics usually considered and have a larger variance that may be significant in determining uncertainties and in making weighted fits. Optimal probe times and the resulting state detection efficiency and sensitivity are determined for arbitrary cooling rates, initial states and shelved state lifetimes, in terms of a probe coherence time τp. A universal optimal probe time of tp ~ 0.43τp is shown to give an almost optimal probe sensitivity for most systems.
A generalized probe sequence typical of trapped ion experiments using shelving is studied. Detection efficiency is analyzed for finite shelved state lifetimes and using multi-modal count distributions. Multi-modal distributions are more appropriate for measurements that use a small number of ions than the simple Poisson counting statistics usually considered and have a larger variance that may be significant in determining uncertainties and in making weighted fits. Optimal probe times and the resulting state detection efficiency and sensitivity are determined for arbitrary cooling rates, initial states and shelved state lifetimes, in terms of a probe coherence time τp. A universal optimal probe time of tp ~ 0.43τp is shown to give an almost optimal probe sensitivity for most systems.