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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Optimization of a crossed optical dipole trap for loading and confining laser-cooled atoms

Guan‐Bo Liao, Keng-Shuo Wu, Chung-You Shih, Yu-Hsuan Cheng, Li-An Sun, Y.-J. Lin, M.-S. Chang

Published Mar 28, 2017• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We theoretically study the loading of cold atoms into a crossed optical dipole trap (ODT). We compared the loading efficiency dependent on the trap geometry for Nd:YAG and CO2 laser ODTs. By crossing two Nd:YAG laser beams at a small angle, such as 10°, we can shape the geometry of the effective potential in the intersection region and achieve comparable performance to that of a single-beam CO2 laser ODT. We also calculate the optimal experimental parameters for these two laser wavelengths for laser power per beam ranging from 5 W to 100 W. We further experimentally studied the loading of laser-cooled Rb87 atoms into a small-angle crossed Nd:YAG ODT and found that the experimental data agreed with the simulation results.

DOI
10.1364/josab.34.000869

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This thesis reports on the design and construction of, and results from, an optical-dipole trapping apparatus developed to confine ultracold rubidium atoms in a conservative, large period, optical-dipole trap. An ultra-high vacuum system was designed and constructed to create a very low- background pressure. A new technique of viewport construction was developed, allowing for the fabrication of economical, high-quality windows for transmission of mid-infra-red laser radiation. The construction of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and an optical molasses, and the subsequent characterisation, are discussed. A theory for the ac-Stark shift of atoms in a far-detuned laser field was developed. The nature of the scalar and tensorial light-shifts of the ground and first excited states of alkali atoms - the 5s(^2)S1/2 and 5p(^2)P3/2 states of Rb - has been examined. The effect of the differential light-shifts between these states on the operation of efficient laser cooling is discussed. A quasi-electrostatic dipole trap (QUEST) was formed from 50 W of CO2 laser power (٢ = 10.6 μm), focussed to <100 μm. The transfer of ultra-cold atoms from the MOT and optical molasses to the QUEST have been examined. Single beam and standing wave geometries of the QUEST have been implemented, with lifetimes of many seconds. The theory for the ac-Stark effect due to a single laser field has been further developed to consider orthogonally polarised fields with independent wavelengths. The use of an auxiliary laser field, a Nd:YAG laser at λ = 1.064 μm, to enhance the number and density of atoms loaded into the QUEST has been proposed and realised.

•Jan 1, 2005•9 citations
We theoretically study the loading of cold atoms into a crossed optical dipole trap (ODT). We compared the loading efficiency dependent on the trap geometry for Nd:YAG and CO2 laser ODTs. By crossing two Nd:YAG laser beams at a small angle, such as 10°, we can shape the geometry of the effective potential in the intersection region and achieve comparable performance to that of a single-beam CO2 laser ODT. We also calculate the optimal experimental parameters for these two laser wavelengths for laser power per beam ranging from 5 W to 100 W. We further experimentally studied the loading of laser-cooled Rb87 atoms into a small-angle crossed Nd:YAG ODT and found that the experimental data agreed with the simulation results.
Crossed optical dipole traps (ODTs) provide three-dimensional confinement of cold atoms and other optically trappable particles. However, the need to maintain the intersection of the two trapping beams poses strict requirements on alignment stability, and limits the ability to move the trap. Here we demonstrate a novel crossed ODT design that features inherent stability of the beam crossing, allowing the trap to move and remain aligned. The trap consists of a single high-power laser beam, imaged back onto itself at an angle to form a crossed trap. Self-aligning behavior results from employing an imaging system with positive magnification tuned precisely to unity. We employ laser-cooled samples of 6^66Li atoms to demonstrate that the trap remains well-aligned over a 4.3 mm travel range along an axis approximately perpendicular to the plane containing the crossed beams. Our scheme can be applied to bring an atomic cloud held in a crossed ODT close to a surface or field source for various applications in quantum simulation, sensing, and information processing.
We have investigated the behavior of an optical dipole force trap realized using a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser and have compared performance to a continuous-wave (cw) trap built using the same laser but running in a cw mode. The traps are used to confine ultracold 85Rb^{85}\text{R}\text{b}85Rb atoms which are loaded from a magneto-optical trap (MOT). In most respects, the two traps behave similarly over a wide range of laser parameters provided that the average potential well depth is the same; however, there is a notable difference in the dipole trap loading efficiency dependence on the detuning of the MOT trap laser frequency during the loading stage.
We report on the optimal production of the Bose and Fermi mixtures with 87Rb and 40K in a crossed optical dipole trap (ODT). We measure the atomic number and lifetime of the mixtures in combination of the spin state |F = 9/2, m F = 9/2〉 of 40K and |1, 1〉 of 87Rb in the ODT, which is larger and longer compared with the combination of the spin state |9/2, 9/2〉 of 40K and |2, 2〉 of 87Rb in the ODT. We observe the atomic numbers of 87Rb and 40K shown in each stage of the sympathetic cooling process while gradually reducing the depth of the optical trap. By optimizing the relative loading time of atomic mixtures in the MOT, we obtain the large atomic number of 40K (∼6 × 106) or the mixtures of atoms with an equal number (∼1.6 × 106) at the end of evaporative cooling in the ODT. We experimentally investigate the evaporative cooling in an enlarged volume of the ODT via adding a third laser beam to the crossed ODT and found that more atoms (8 × 106) and higher degeneracy (T/T F = 0.25) of Fermi gases are obtained. The ultracold atomic gas mixtures pave the way to explore phenomena such as few-body collisions and the Bose–Fermi Hubbard model, as well as for creating ground-state molecules of 87Rb40K.
We discuss our experimental results on forced evaporative cooling of cold rubidium 87 Rb atoms to quantum degeneracy in an Optical Dipole Trap. The atoms are first trapped and cooled in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) loaded from a continuous beam of cold atoms [1]. More than 10 10 atoms are trapped in the MOT and then about 10 8 atoms are transferred to a Quasi-Electrostatic Trap (QUEST) formed by tightly focused CO2 laser (λ = 10.6μ m ) beams intersecting at their foci in an orthogonal configuration in the horizontal plane. Before loading the atoms into the dipole trap, the phase-space density of the atomic ensemble was increased making use of sub-doppler cooling at large detuning and the temporal dark MOT technique. In a MOT the phase-space density of the atomic ensemble is six orders of magnitude less than what is required to achieve quantum degeneracy. After transferring atoms into the dipole trap efficiently, phase-space density increases by a factor of 10 3 . Further increase in phase-space density to quantum degeneracy is achieved by forced evaporative cooling of atoms in the dipole trap. The evaporative cooling process involves a gradual reduction of the trap depth by ramping down the trapping laser intensity over a second. The temperature of the cold atomic cloud was measured by time-of-flight (TOF) technique. The spatial distribution of the atoms is measured using absorption imaging. We report results of evaporative cooling in a single beam and in a crossed double-beam dipole traps. Due to the large initial phase space density, and large initial number of atoms trapped, the quantum phase transition occurs after about 600 ms of evaporative cooling in our optimized crossed dipole trap.
This thesis reports on the design and construction of, and results from, an optical-dipole trapping apparatus developed to confine ultracold rubidium atoms in a conservative, large period, optical-dipole trap. An ultra-high vacuum system was designed and constructed to create a very low- background pressure. A new technique of viewport construction was developed, allowing for the fabrication of economical, high-quality windows for transmission of mid-infra-red laser radiation. The construction of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and an optical molasses, and the subsequent characterisation, are discussed. A theory for the ac-Stark shift of atoms in a far-detuned laser field was developed. The nature of the scalar and tensorial light-shifts of the ground and first excited states of alkali atoms - the 5s(^2)S1/2 and 5p(^2)P3/2 states of Rb - has been examined. The effect of the differential light-shifts between these states on the operation of efficient laser cooling is discussed. A quasi-electrostatic dipole trap (QUEST) was formed from 50 W of CO2 laser power (٢ = 10.6 μm), focussed to <100 μm. The transfer of ultra-cold atoms from the MOT and optical molasses to the QUEST have been examined. Single beam and standing wave geometries of the QUEST have been implemented, with lifetimes of many seconds. The theory for the ac-Stark effect due to a single laser field has been further developed to consider orthogonally polarised fields with independent wavelengths. The use of an auxiliary laser field, a Nd:YAG laser at λ = 1.064 μm, to enhance the number and density of atoms loaded into the QUEST has been proposed and realised.