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Optics Letters

Double-resonance and optical-pumping experiments on electromagnetically confined, laser-cooled ions

David J. Wineland, Jonas Bergquist, Wayne M. Itano, Robert E. Drullinger

Published Jun 1, 1980• 96 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Experiments illustrating advantages and unique features of double-resonance and optical pumping on electromagnetically confined, laser-cooled ions are discussed. In certain cases, scattered light from the cooling transition can be used as a monitor in double-resonance experiments to give nearly 100% detection efficiency. Nonradiative relaxation rates are extremely small for stored ions, permitting nearly complete optical pumping, even in extremely weak pumping schemes.

DOI
10.1364/ol.5.000245

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Experiments illustrating advantages and unique features of double-resonance and optical pumping on electromagnetically confined, laser-cooled ions are discussed. In certain cases, scattered light from the cooling transition can be used as a monitor in double-resonance experiments to give nearly 100% detection efficiency. Nonradiative relaxation rates are extremely small for stored ions, permitting nearly complete optical pumping, even in extremely weak pumping schemes.
Optical pumping experiments on atomic ions which are stored in electromagnetic « traps » are discussed. Weak relaxation and extremely small energy shifts of the stored ions lead to very high resolution and accuracy in optical pumping-double resonance experiments. In the same spirit of Kastler's proposal for « lumino refrigeration » (1950), the kinetic energy levels of stored ions can be optically pumped. This technique, which has been called laser cooling, significantly reduces Doppler frequency shifts in the spectra.
Experimental research toward the realization of an optical frequency standard of high accuracy is briefly reviewed. The studies concentrated on single, laser-cooled ions since they offer several attractive features for the achievement of high accuracy. These features include long storage time which eliminates transit-time broadening, confinement that is nearly nonperturbative to the internal level structure of the ion, laser-cooling that reduces motional shifts to small values, and electron-shelving whereby transitions to long-lived states can be detected with unit probability. The authors studied spectroscopically the electric-quadrupole allowed transition at 282 nm in a single, laser-cooled /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ion stored in an RF Paul trap with extremely high resolution. The measured linewidth is limited by the spectral purity of the laser to about 80 Hz. Possible improvements and future directions are discussed.>
We have used stored ion methods to improve resolution and sensitivity in optical spectroscopy. Single atomic ions have been confined by electric and magnetic fields, cooled by laser radiation pressure to temperatures on the order of 1 mK, and probed spectroscopically with narrowband lasers. The absorption resonance of a single Hg + ion has been observed by a decrease in the transmitted light intensity. An ultraviolet transition in Hg + has been observed with a linewidth of only 30 kHz. Quantum jumps to and from metastable levels of Hg + have been observed and used to determine radiative decay rates and to infer the existence of photon antibunching. Quantum jumps have also been observed in single Mg + ions.
In an iontrap,laser-cooled ions can be confined in a small space in an ultra-high vacuum so that collisions rarely happen and the ions are well isolated from the environment. Since these conditions enable high-resolution spectroscopy of single ions, laser-cooled ions are suitable for use in developing frequency standards. The ions can be cooled to the motional ground state to give a well-defined initial quantum state for quantum state manipulation and quantum computing. In this review, principles of ion traps and laser cooling, and recent progress in optical frequency standards and quantum computing with trapped ions are described.