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Metrologia

Optical Detection of Ions Confined in a rf Quadrupole Trap

Reinhard Iffländer, Günther Werth

Published Jul 1, 1977• 89 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The observation of D1-fluorescence light from trapped Ba + ions, using a pulsed tunable dye laser as a light source, leads to a sensitive detection of the confined particles. In preparation of an ODR-experiment to determine the ground state hyperfine splitting of the odd isotopes we found the optimum operating point of the trap and measured the average ion energy.

DOI
10.1088/0026-1394/13/3/017

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Trapped cold ions are tools which we used to approach two very disparate areas of physics, strong coupling between Ba+ ions and optical resonators, and investigations of a low-energy nuclear isomer of 229-Th. The first part of this thesis describes our progress towards the integration of a miniature Paul (rf) ion trap with a high finesse (F=30000) optical cavity. Ba+ ions were trapped and cooled for long periods and a new scheme for isotope selective photoionization was developed. The second part of this thesis describes our progress towards controlled excitation of the low energy nuclear isomer of 229-Th, which may provide a bridge between the techniques of cold atomic and nuclear physics. As a step towards this goal, 232-Th3+ ions were confined in rf ions traps and cooled via collisions with a buffer gas of helium. A sophisticated scanning program was developed for controlling ion trap loading, tuning lasers, and running a CCD camera to look for fluorescence. The low-lying electronic transitions of Th3+ at 984 nm, 690 nm and 1087 nm were observed via laser fluorescence.

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Cold trapped ions have many applications in quantum information science and precision metrology. In this thesis, we present progress toward two objectives involving ions confined to linear RF traps: the strong coupling of Ba+ ions with a high finesse optical cavity, and the observation of an optical nuclear transition in 229Th3+. In pursuit of the first objective, a novel high-temperture vapor cell for the spectroscopy of neutral barium was constructed. Using this vapor cell, a new technique for isotope-selective photoionization loading of Ba+ in an ion trap was developed. In pursuit of the second objective, techniques ultimately to be used in creating, trapping, and observing 229Th3+ are studied using 232Th3+. Ion traps are loaded with 232Th3+ via laser ablation of thorium targets. 232Th3+ is detected optically using laser-induced fluorescence and electronically using a channel electron multiplier. A technique for creating ablation targets from trace quantities of thorium nitrate is presented. The primary loss mechanisms of Th3+, charge exchange and chemical reactions, are studied.

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Physical Review A•Dec 27, 2010•10 citations
The observation of D1-fluorescence light from trapped Ba + ions, using a pulsed tunable dye laser as a light source, leads to a sensitive detection of the confined particles. In preparation of an ODR-experiment to determine the ground state hyperfine splitting of the odd isotopes we found the optimum operating point of the trap and measured the average ion energy.
We have employed the method of shelving to measure Zeeman resonances of a single trapped Ba+ ion. We use optical pumping to place the ion in a selected magnetic sublevel of either the 6S(1/2) ground state or the 5D(3/2) metastable state. The ion is exposed to an rf field, and a probing/shelving mechanism detects whether spin-flip transitions have taken place. We have observed rf transitions with linewidths of 15 Hz, limited by magnetic-field noise. We have also observed the shift in the Zeeman frequency when the ion is illuminated by off-resonant light. A simultaneous measurement of such light shifts in two atomic states of Ba+ will permit a precise determination of the ratio of transition matrix elements.
Laser fluorescence spectroscopy has been performed on the two-photon 62S1/2 to 52D3/2 transition in Ba+. Using signals from an individual laser-cooled ion in a rf trap, a laser limited linewidth of less than 3 MHz has been achieved with an effective wavelength of 2.07 μm. The absence of any sidebands in the spectra spaced at the 5.5-MHz oscillation frequency of the ion in the rf quadrupole trap indicates that the ion vibrational motion must be well into the Lamb–Dicke regime. An upper limit of 165 nm is given to the vibrational amplitude.
Ba+ and Yb+ ions were trapped with buffer gas in a rf ion trap. The number and the storagetime of the trapped ions were determined by the rf resonance method. It was shown thatthe motion of the trapped ions was expressed by an external forced oscillation equation with anonlinear term in the case the fabricated trap was imperfect. Due to this nonlinear effect, thesubharmonic oscillation was induced, and thus the number and the storage time of the trappedions were decreased and shortened, respectively. The temperature and the spatial distributionof the trapped ions were determined by the fluorescence detection method.
Trapped cold ions are tools which we used to approach two very disparate areas of physics, strong coupling between Ba+ ions and optical resonators, and investigations of a low-energy nuclear isomer of 229-Th. The first part of this thesis describes our progress towards the integration of a miniature Paul (rf) ion trap with a high finesse (F=30000) optical cavity. Ba+ ions were trapped and cooled for long periods and a new scheme for isotope selective photoionization was developed. The second part of this thesis describes our progress towards controlled excitation of the low energy nuclear isomer of 229-Th, which may provide a bridge between the techniques of cold atomic and nuclear physics. As a step towards this goal, 232-Th3+ ions were confined in rf ions traps and cooled via collisions with a buffer gas of helium. A sophisticated scanning program was developed for controlling ion trap loading, tuning lasers, and running a CCD camera to look for fluorescence. The low-lying electronic transitions of Th3+ at 984 nm, 690 nm and 1087 nm were observed via laser fluorescence.
Cold trapped ions have many applications in quantum information science and precision metrology. In this thesis, we present progress toward two objectives involving ions confined to linear RF traps: the strong coupling of Ba+ ions with a high finesse optical cavity, and the observation of an optical nuclear transition in 229Th3+. In pursuit of the first objective, a novel high-temperture vapor cell for the spectroscopy of neutral barium was constructed. Using this vapor cell, a new technique for isotope-selective photoionization loading of Ba+ in an ion trap was developed. In pursuit of the second objective, techniques ultimately to be used in creating, trapping, and observing 229Th3+ are studied using 232Th3+. Ion traps are loaded with 232Th3+ via laser ablation of thorium targets. 232Th3+ is detected optically using laser-induced fluorescence and electronically using a channel electron multiplier. A technique for creating ablation targets from trace quantities of thorium nitrate is presented. The primary loss mechanisms of Th3+, charge exchange and chemical reactions, are studied.
We report isotope-selective loading and trapping of doubly ionized ytterbium into an rf quadrupole trap. Isotopically pure clouds of 174Yb^{174}\mathrm{Yb}174Yb+{}^{+}+ ions were first loaded into the rf trap via a multistage photoionization process. The Yb2+{}^{2+}2+ ions were then produced by electron impact ionization of the trapped Yb+{}^{+}+ ions. The Yb2+{}^{2+}2+ ions were subsequently detected by rf excitation of their secular motion in the trap, which led to sympathetic heating and changes in the fluorescence of the laser-cooled Yb+{}^{+}+ ions. The presence of doubly charged Yb ions was further verified by the appearance of a dark band in the center of Yb+{}^{+}+ ion cloud after electron impact ionization. We discuss the possible formation of Yb2+{}^{2+}2+H and similar compounds and the schemes for the direct optical detection of the Yb2+{}^{2+}2+ ions.