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Microwave-optical double resonance on a single laser-cooled 171 Yb + ion

V. Enclers, Ph. W. Courteille, R. Huesmann, Markku Lehtinen, Werner Neuhauser, R. Blatt, P. E. Toschek

Published May 8, 1994• 1 citation
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Abstract

The ground-state hyperfine transitions of trapped clouds of 9Be+, 201Hg+, and 171Yb ions have been made control microwave oscillators.1-5 The frequency stability of these atomic clocks exceeds that of a primary Cs frequency standard in the short-term regime and that of a hydrogen maser for long times. Systematic perturbations derive from the members of the cloud being placed in an inhomogeneous field and showing residual motion. A single cold ion kept in the field node of an electrodynamic trap lacks these perturbations. The precise control of a standard frequency requires a narrow and weak transition whose resonance can be hardly detected by observation of the fluorescence on this line.

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We report an experimental observation of the weak 'SO-~PO transition in 171,173Ybl and new approaches for qubits and optical clocks with this single-photon resonance and a three-photon resonance in an even isotope, respectively. Introduction - Optical clocks show great promise as the next generation of precision frequency standards due to the high frequency and correspondingly high line-Q of weakly allowed atomic transitions. Thanks to femtosecond comb technology (l), clocks based on optical transitions in both single trapped ions and neutral atom clouds are poised to exceed the already stringent bounds on precision set by microwave frequency standards. A recent proposal combining the Lamb-Dicke confinement of single ion frequency standards with the high signal-tenoise of neutral atom cLouds, and exploiting a highly forbidden transition insensitive to external magnetic fields and trap light polarization has the potential to do even better (2). The scheme makes use of the 'SO-~P~ electric dipole transition in alkaline-earth atoms, weakly allowed in odd isotopes by the hyperfine interaction of the nuclear spin and completely forbidden by a single-photon process in even isotopes. Trapping the atoms in a Stark-free optical httice will allow a large ensemble of atoms to exhibit a spectrum free of Doppler and recoil shifts, leading to an estimated accuracy of a few parts in lo1* (3, 41. As an additional application, the long atomic coherence times in optical lattices also suggest using the 'SO-~PO pairs of states as an array of qubits for quantum information (5, 61. Yb and Sr are both strong candidates for an optical lattice clock as well as for creating useful qubits. Both atoms have experimentally accessible energy level transitions, allowing the atoms to be readily laser-cooled and trapped, and in the case of Yb, Eose-Einstein condensed. While the Sr clock transition has been studied extensively, both in and out of an optical lattice, the same transition in Yb has thus far remained unexplored experimentally. Here we report the direct excitation of the 578 nm 'SO-~P~ transition in odd isotope 171,173Yb. (We understand that a group at NIST has also observed this transition (7)). We also discuss the possible application of this type of transitions in making qubits for quantum computation and a clock scheme based on three-photon transition in an even isotope (8, 91. - The level structure of Yb and the experimental apparatus are diagrammed in Fig. 1. The experiment is performed on a sample of cold atoms collected in a magneto- optical trap (MOT). To excite the clock transition, we shut off the MOT beams and irradiate the cloud of atoms with a 578 nm probe. JVe t,hen turn the MOT beams back on, continuously monitoring 399 nm fluorescence from the atom cloud. As the probe laser frequency is scanned over the dock transition, there is an observable decrease in MOT fluorescence as atoms are excited into the metastable 3Po state and escape the trap. By chopping trap and probe beams out of phase, we avoid light shifts of the clock transition due to near-resonant 399 nm light while maintaining a steady-state MOT population. The MOT fluorescence reduction of 171Yb is shown in Fig. 2 (a). Since iodine lines have been well measured in Observation of the 1So-3P, Transition in 1713173Yb

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Abstract The ground‐state hyperfine transition ΔmF = 0 of trapped Yb+ ions has been measured as 12642812119.6 (0.4) Hz. The frequency instability of a microwave, controlled by this resonance, is characterised by the standard deviation 2·10−11· (τ/sec)−1/2, where τ is the time separation of probes. The performance of this frequency standard or “clock” exceeds the stability of commercial cesium clocks and still offers major potential for improvement.

Annalen der Physik•Jan 1, 1991•39 citations
The ground-state hyperfine transitions of trapped clouds of 9Be+, 201Hg+, and 171Yb ions have been made control microwave oscillators.1-5 The frequency stability of these atomic clocks exceeds that of a primary Cs frequency standard in the short-term regime and that of a hydrogen maser for long times. Systematic perturbations derive from the members of the cloud being placed in an inhomogeneous field and showing residual motion. A single cold ion kept in the field node of an electrodynamic trap lacks these perturbations. The precise control of a standard frequency requires a narrow and weak transition whose resonance can be hardly detected by observation of the fluorescence on this line.
A single ion whose energy levels are hyperfine split, 171 Yb + , was electrodynamically trapped and laser cooled. The residual energy of both its driven motion and its secular motion was 11 μeV. Radiofrequency-optical double-resonance excitation yields spectra whose 40 Hz wide lines are determined so far by the duration of the ion's interaction with the 12.6 GHz radiation. These results prove that a microwave clock is feasible with its fractional systematic uncertainty not exceeding 10 −16 .
An optical clock or frequency standard based on the interrogation of an atomic transition in the optical domain, operates at ~1014Hz is capable of providing orders of magnitude better accuracy than the present primary standard of frequency or time operating in the microwave range. Optical transitions of an ions, confined within a radio frequency ion trap and laser cooled to ~mK temperature, provides better long term stability since they are free from Coulomb and intra-atomic interactions. Optical frequency standards have been realized with several ions, e.g.,199Hg+,171Yb+,115In+,88Sr+,40Ca+,27Al+and among those171Y+has multiple ultra-narrow optical transitions suitable for serving as frequency standards [1-2].
Optical frequency standards based on narrow absorptions in laser-cooled single trapped ions have recently begun to demonstrate stabilities that are competitive with cold atom fountain microwave standards. This paper presents a short review of the wider state-of-the-art development of these single cold trapped ion frequency standards, coupled with a more detailed account of recent results achieved at National Physical Laboratory in respect of single ion systems based on 88Sr+, 87Sr+ and 171Yb+. Narrow linewidth data for the optical clock quadrupole and octupole transitions respectively at 674 nm in 88Sr+ and 467 nm in 171Yb+, are presented, together with a discussion of current systematics and future projections. The potential for optical clock operation is outlined.
We report an experimental observation of the weak 'SO-~PO transition in 171,173Ybl and new approaches for qubits and optical clocks with this single-photon resonance and a three-photon resonance in an even isotope, respectively. Introduction - Optical clocks show great promise as the next generation of precision frequency standards due to the high frequency and correspondingly high line-Q of weakly allowed atomic transitions. Thanks to femtosecond comb technology (l), clocks based on optical transitions in both single trapped ions and neutral atom clouds are poised to exceed the already stringent bounds on precision set by microwave frequency standards. A recent proposal combining the Lamb-Dicke confinement of single ion frequency standards with the high signal-tenoise of neutral atom cLouds, and exploiting a highly forbidden transition insensitive to external magnetic fields and trap light polarization has the potential to do even better (2). The scheme makes use of the 'SO-~P~ electric dipole transition in alkaline-earth atoms, weakly allowed in odd isotopes by the hyperfine interaction of the nuclear spin and completely forbidden by a single-photon process in even isotopes. Trapping the atoms in a Stark-free optical httice will allow a large ensemble of atoms to exhibit a spectrum free of Doppler and recoil shifts, leading to an estimated accuracy of a few parts in lo1* (3, 41. As an additional application, the long atomic coherence times in optical lattices also suggest using the 'SO-~PO pairs of states as an array of qubits for quantum information (5, 61. Yb and Sr are both strong candidates for an optical lattice clock as well as for creating useful qubits. Both atoms have experimentally accessible energy level transitions, allowing the atoms to be readily laser-cooled and trapped, and in the case of Yb, Eose-Einstein condensed. While the Sr clock transition has been studied extensively, both in and out of an optical lattice, the same transition in Yb has thus far remained unexplored experimentally. Here we report the direct excitation of the 578 nm 'SO-~P~ transition in odd isotope 171,173Yb. (We understand that a group at NIST has also observed this transition (7)). We also discuss the possible application of this type of transitions in making qubits for quantum computation and a clock scheme based on three-photon transition in an even isotope (8, 91. - The level structure of Yb and the experimental apparatus are diagrammed in Fig. 1. The experiment is performed on a sample of cold atoms collected in a magneto- optical trap (MOT). To excite the clock transition, we shut off the MOT beams and irradiate the cloud of atoms with a 578 nm probe. JVe t,hen turn the MOT beams back on, continuously monitoring 399 nm fluorescence from the atom cloud. As the probe laser frequency is scanned over the dock transition, there is an observable decrease in MOT fluorescence as atoms are excited into the metastable 3Po state and escape the trap. By chopping trap and probe beams out of phase, we avoid light shifts of the clock transition due to near-resonant 399 nm light while maintaining a steady-state MOT population. The MOT fluorescence reduction of 171Yb is shown in Fig. 2 (a). Since iodine lines have been well measured in Observation of the 1So-3P, Transition in 1713173Yb