We have constructed a solid-state light source for experiments with laser cooled lithium atoms based on a Nd:YVO4 ring laser with second-harmonic generation. Unidirectional lasing, an improved mode selection, and a high output power of the ring laser were achieved by weak coupling to an external cavity which contained the lossy elements required for single frequency operation. Continuous frequency tuning is accomplished by controlling two piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) in the internal and the external cavities simultaneously. The light source has been utilized to trap and cool fermionic lithium atoms into the quantum degenerate regime.
In this thesis we present novel techniques for the study of ultracold gases of lithium atoms. In the first part of this thesis, we present the development of a narrow-linewidth laser source emitting 840mW of output power in the vicinity of the lithium D-line resonances at 671 nm. The source is based on a diode-end-pumped unidirectional ring laser operating on the 1342-nm transition in Nd:YVO4, capable of producing 1.3W of single-mode light delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. The output beam is subsequently frequency-doubled using periodically-poled potassium titanyl phosphate (ppKTP) in an external buildup cavity. We obtain doubling efficiencies of up to 86%. Tunability of the output frequency over more than 400GHz and frequency-locking of the cavity ensemble with respect to the lithium D-line transitions are accomplished. We measure the linewidth to be 200+400-200kHz. In the second part of this thesis, we employ the source in an experimental setup to produce to cool and trap lithium atoms. We realize samples of finite-temperature unitary Bose gases around the center of a Fano-Feshbach resonance, where interactions between the atoms are maximized. We present temperature-dependent measurements of the unitarity-limited three-body loss rate. The measured losses attain the limiting value imposed by quantum mechanics without adjustable parameters. This measurement allows for the introduction of a criterion for quasi-equilibrium. In this regime, by using technique based on in-situ imaging developed in our group, we provide a first measurement of the equation of state of the unitary Bose gas at low fugacities.
This thesis presents novel techniques for the experimental study of ultracold quantum gases of fermionic lithium and potassium atoms.In the first part of this thesis, we describe the design and characterization of the new components of our experimental apparatus capable of trapping and cooling simultaneously
6Li and
40K atoms to ultracold temperatures.We report on a novel sub-Doppler cooling mechanism, operating on the D
1 line transition of alkali atoms, for laser cooling of lithium and potassium. The measured phase space densities after this molasses phase are on the order of
10−4 for both
6Li and
40K. We present the forced evaporative cooling of
40K atoms, starting in an optically plugged magnetic quadrupole trap and continuing in an optical dipole trap. In this context, we report on the production of a quantum degenerate Fermi gas of
1.5×105 atoms
40K in a crossed dipole trap with
T/TF=0.17, paving the way for the study of strongly interacting superfluids of
40K.In the second part of this thesis, we present a narrow-linewidth, all-solid-state laser source, emitting 5.2 W in the vicinity of the lithium D-line transitions at 671 nm. The source is based on a diode-end-pumped unidirectional ring laser operating on the 1342 nm transition of Nd:YVO
4, capable of producing 6.5 W of single-mode light delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. We report on three different approaches for second-haromonic generation of its output beam, namely by employing an enhancement cavity containing a ppKTP crystal, intracavity frequency doubling and a ppZnO:LN waveguide structure.
We have developed a semiconductor laser system used in 40K-87Rb trapping and cooling experiment. The laser diode system is composed of three external cavity diode lasers and four injection diode lasers and a tapered amplifier. Four laser beams used for 40K and 87Rb cooling and repump lights are obtained by using acoustic optic modulators to offset the frequencies from the three external cavity diode lasers. Four light beams with different frequencies are injected into four slave lasers for injection locking. Then Rb cooling light, K cooling light and K repump light are injected into a semiconductor tapered amplifier in a master oscillator-power configuration. This configuration is flexible and stable and can simultaneously produce the cooling and repump light for 40K and 87Rb trapping and cooling experiment.
The development of an all-solid-state systems of lasers is described for the cooling and probing of strontium ions in a radio-frequency (rf) trap. The Sr+ ions created within the rf trap are laser cooled by repeated cycling on the 422 nm 2S1/2 - 2P1/2 resonance transition. The 422 nm light was generated from a single mode 70 mW 844 nm diode laser, whose output was frequency doubled to 422 nm in a KNbO3 crystal inside a resonant enhancement cavity. Decays from the Sr+ upper resonance level into the 2D3/2 metastable state remove ions from the cooling cycle. This loss was prevented by driving the 1092 nm 2D3/2 - 2P1/2 transition using a Nd3+-doped fiber laser, diode-pumped at 826 nm. The 2S1/2 - 2D5/2 optical 'clock' transition at 674 nm has a natural linewidth of 0.4 Hz and may be probed with an AlGaInP laser diode. The laser diodes at 844 nm and 674 nm are both collimated using a piezo-mounted GRIN rod which also provides longitudinal mode selection. The spectral output is optically narrowed using resonant optical feedback.