We demonstrate a compact magneto-optical trap (MOT) of alkaline-earth atoms using a nanofabricated diffraction grating chip. A single input laser beam, resonant with the broad 1S0 → 1P1 transition of strontium, forms the MOT in combination with three diffracted beams from the grating chip and a magnetic field produced by permanent magnets. A differential pumping tube limits the effect of the heated, effusive source on the background pressure in the trapping region. The system has a total volume of around 2.4 l. With our setup, we have trapped up to 5 × 106 88Sr atoms at a temperature of ∼6 mK, and with a trap lifetime of ∼1 s. Our results will aid the effort to miniaturize quantum technologies based on alkaline-earth atoms.
We demonstrate the two-color cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth atoms in a grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT). The trap is formed by a single incident laser beam together with four secondary beams that are generated via diffraction from a nanostructured wafer. A grating structure for a GMOT operating with strontium atoms is optimized and fabricated. We trap
10688Sr atoms on the ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{1}{P}_{1}$ transition at
461nm and transfer 25% of these atoms to the second cooling stage on the narrower ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{3}{P}_{1}$ intercombination transition at
689nm, preparing a sample of $2.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$ atoms at $5\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$. These results demonstrate the applicability of the GMOT technology in conjunction with two widely differing wavelengths and enable the continued miniaturization of alkaline-earth-based quantum technologies like optical atomic clocks.
We demonstrate for the first time the two-color cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth atoms in a grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT). The trap is formed by a single incident laser beam together with four secondary beams that are generated via diffraction from a nanostructured wafer. A grating structure for a gMOT operating with strontium atoms is optimized and fabricated. We trap
106 88Sr atoms on the
1S
0 → 1P
1 transition at
461nm and transfer
25% of these atoms to the second cooling stage on the narrower
1S
0 → 3P
1 intercombination transition at
689nm, preparing a sample of
2.5×105 atoms at
5μK. These results demonstrate for the first time the applicability of the gMOT technology in conjunction with two widely differing wavelengths and enable the continued miniaturization of alkaline-earth based quantum technologies like optical atomic clocks.