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Applied Optics

Deceleration of a calcium atomic beam with a frequency-doubled diode laser

Germano Woehl, G A Garcia, Flávio C. Cruz, D. Pereira, Artemio Scalabrin

Published Apr 20, 1999• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A calcium atomic beam has been decelerated by a single extended-cavity diode laser, frequency doubled to 423 nm. A potassium niobate crystal is placed in an external power buildup cavity, and the second-harmonic laser beam, counterpropagating with the atomic beam, is tuned into resonance with the strong 1S0-1P1 transition of calcium. For input power of 78 mW at 846 nm, we generate 22 mW at 423 nm after correction for the reflectivity of our cavity output coupler. To keep the atoms always in resonance during the deceleration process, the Zeeman tuning technique was used.

DOI
10.1364/ao.38.002540

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A calcium atomic beam has been decelerated by a single extended-cavity diode laser, frequency doubled to 423 nm. A potassium niobate crystal is placed in an external power buildup cavity, and the second-harmonic laser beam, counterpropagating with the atomic beam, is tuned into resonance with the strong 1S0-1P1 transition of calcium. For input power of 78 mW at 846 nm, we generate 22 mW at 423 nm after correction for the reflectivity of our cavity output coupler. To keep the atoms always in resonance during the deceleration process, the Zeeman tuning technique was used.
The 657 nm calcium intercombination line is an attractive optical frequency/length reference due to its high line Q (10/sup 12/) and insensitivity to external perturbations. In this paper we describe progress towards an all-diode-laser-based reference using laser-trapped Ca. To generate 35 mW of 423 nm trap light, we double the frequency of a 150 mW, 846 nm diode laser with a nonlinear crystal (KNbO/sub 3/) inside a resonant build-up cavity. We use this light to trap 2/spl times/10/sup 7/ atoms in a compact, magneto-optic trap. Spectroscopy of the narrow 657 nm transition is performed with a frequency-stabilized diode laser system. With the trapped atoms we have measured optical Ramsey fringes with a linewidth of 6 kHz. We discuss future improvements as well as potential performance which could achieve a fractional frequency instability of <3/spl times/10/sup -15/.
Optical frequency standards with the reference to a narrow electronic transition of a laser-cooled collection of neutral atomic particles are becoming essential tools of research in modern precision physics experiments. In the core of a building block of an optical frequency standard is the optical continuous wave laser that has a good spectral purity of the emitted light. Such a stable optical oscillator is highly desirable in high resolution spectroscopy, if it emits in a good quality beam at a short visible wavelength. This Master thesis explores efficient techniques for building such an optical frequency source intended for use in the cooling and trapping of Calcium atoms scheme. The strong dipole transition at the blue wavelength in the atomic Calcium is needed to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms by nearly six orders of magnitude. A further reduction in the thermal energy of the laser cooled atoms is required to locate with ultra-high precision the 400 Hz narrow clock transition of the stable 40Ca isotope. The experimental methods that achieve this and approach sub-microkelvin temperature of the laser cooled bosonic isotopes of alkaline earths are inspected. The blue laser with a uniform intensity distribution in the beam is useful to maintain the trapped number of cold atoms during these experiments. The spectroscopic properties of the relative transitions in Calcium atom are also reviewed following relevant publications in the area. The constructed blue laser can be used as a primary wavelength source in the lasers network for cooling and trapping of Calcium atoms. These experiments will constitute part of the project to build an optical atom clock referenced to 40Ca narrow linewidth transition. The blue laser is constructed by generating second harmonic in a Potassium Niobate crystal, which is temperature controlled to use a type-I noncritical phase-matching of the optical nonlinear process. The power of the intracavity-generated second harmonic depends on the resonance properties of the optical resonator where this nonlinear crystal is placed. The study is aimed at characterising the designed optical resonator and the experimental parameters that describe it. The formula is derived that relates the resonance power enhancement coefficient with finesse and the power coupling contrast of a passive optical cavity. The obtained relationship is verfied during the experiments. The produced efficiency of the intracavity second harmonic generation is approx. 0.0023 mWblue/(mWred)2. The research work also examines the noise characteristics of the infrared diode laser that is used as a pump source for the intracavity generated second harmonic and determines the spectroscopic precision of the produced blue light. The frequency locking experiment is analysed using the unbalanced scheme of the polarisation stabilisation technique. The designed optical buildup cavity became a part of the unbalanced frequency discriminator in such a scheme. The results demonstrate high gain of frequency noise suppression of the stabilised laser. The unbalanced arrangement of the H}ansch-Couillaud technique has been possible due to a very low amplitude noise of semiconductor lasers.
We report on a system for atomic beam deceleration and magneto-optical trapping of calcium atoms that uses the 1S0–1P1 transition, in which a single laser is used to trap and slow the atoms. The slower laser beam is focused near the magneto-optical trap’s center, which has a waist size much smaller than the atomic cloud such that its influence on the trapped atoms is greatly reduced. We also investigate the theoretical possibility of cooling by use of a two-photon (4s2)1S0–(4s5s)1S0 transition. Excitation near resonance with the 1P1 level results in an equilibrium temperature seven times smaller than the Doppler limit of the 1S0–1P1 transition.