High power rapidly tunable system for laser cooling

Svetlana Malinovskaya

Victor Manuel Valenzuela, L. Hernández, E. Gómez

We present a laser configuration capable of fast frequency changes with a high power output and a large tuning range. The system integrates frequency tuning with an acousto-optic modulator with a double pass tapered amplifier. A compensation circuit keeps the seed power constant and prevents damage to the amplifier. A single mode fiber decouples the modulation and amplification sections and keeps the alignment fixed. The small power required to saturate the amplifier makes the system very reliable. We use the system to obtain a dipole trap that we image using a beam derived from the same configuration.

Yun Li

Robert A. Buckles, J. Hill, Timur Ismagilov +2 more

Sarah Nagel

The diode laser system for laser cooling on the 1S 0 → 3P1 intercombination line of strontium discussed in this thesis allows us to cool and trap an atomic strontium sample to 15 muK. Samples in this temperature range are useful for the development of the next generation of atomic frequency standards, cold collision studies, and as a step towards quantum degeneracy. This laser system consists of a Littrow configuration external-cavity diode laser, which is frequency locked to a high finesse cavity. The cavity is subsequently locked to an absorption feature to produce a few mW of tunable, stabilized, single mode power at the target wavelength. We present the design and characterization of this system, including a linewidth measurement of 70 kHz, as well as preliminary results from cooling and trapping.

S. Dyer, Kevin Francis Gallacher, Ugnė Hawley +6 more

The miniaturization of cold-atom systems brings high accuracy into portable atomic metrology. However, the impact of cold-atom sensors in real-world applications has been limited by the overall laser cooling package. This study amalgamates a chip-scale optics setup with a microfabricated laser cooling system to dramatically reduce device size, weight, and power usage. The authors use an on-chip Zeeman offset lock for laser cooling, and demonstrate improved atom number afforded by new techniques in silicon cell fabrication. The simplicity, scalability, and utility demonstrated in this cold-atom platform will enable exciting opportunities in portable cold-atom clocks and interferometers.