Optics and lasers in engineering

David Bernhard Blaschke, Dmitry A. Firsov, A. Papoyan +1 more

Paul F. Griffin, Kevin J. Weatherill, Simon G. MacLeod +2 more

We report on a method of light-shift engineering where an auxiliary laser is used to tune the atomic transition frequency. We show that the technique provides enhanced loading of laser cooled 85 Rb and 87 Rb atoms into deep optical traps. Furthermore, by using a blue-detuned optical molasses, light-shift engineering offers remarkable spatial selectivity in the loading of an optical lattice.

Lorenzo M. Narducci, Eduardo Jaime Quel, Jorge R. Tredicce

Feng Guo, Yan-Hua Zhou, Yanyan Liu +4 more

Beyond hardware improvements, Floquet Engineering (FE), as a widely used Hamiltonian engineering method, offers new levels of control and promising opportunities for enhancing optical lattice clock performance. However, while FE shapes novel Hamiltonians, its time-periodic nature introduces micromotion, leading to periodic disturbances in the system, such as frequency shifts. In this work, we introduce a dual-modulation (DM) FE method, simultaneously driving the lattice and probing lasers, allowing independent control of atomic motional and electronic degrees of freedom. Using this framework, we theoretically predict and experimentally observe the micromotion shifts. Additionally, by tuning the DM modulation parameters appropriately, we can fully eliminate the Doppler shift caused by the lattice laser modulation. Building on this Doppler-free synchronization modulation, we observe the dynamic localization of atoms in a shallow lattice while eliminating the periodic interference from Doppler shifts. This study proposes a dual-modulation method for optical lattice clocks that synchronously modulates the lattice laser and probing laser to control atomic motion and light-atom interactions independently. The authors derive theoretically and verify experimentally the laws of micromotion shift, and achieving its effective suppression by optimizing modulation parameters.

Andrei Isichenko, Calisto Ruiz, Chuan Zhong +7 more

The creation of cold atoms underpins quantum sensing and precision metrology, computing, timekeeping, and fundamental science experiments. Miniaturizing the lasers and optical infrastructure, which occupy over 80% of the volume of these experiments, through photonic integration could improve robustness, reliability, and manufacturability while reducing cost and enabling portable space-based precision measurements and quantum tools for non-experts. Yet, there has been limited progress towards integration of the laser and optical infrastructure required to generate cold atoms onto a single chip. We demonstrate a photonic engine that generates, controls, and delivers precision light to create cold atoms in a rubidium 3-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D-MOT). We integrate on a single chip two frequency-agile self-injection-locked lasers, laser frequency and intensity control, passive beam combining and splitting, signal monitoring, and high-efficiency beam delivery to a rubidium vapor cell. The integrated engine is shown to support multiple functions required for generating cold atoms including stable generation of low-noise cooling and repump light, frequency control for atom spectroscopy and stabilization, real-time laser monitoring, routing for laser offset locking, optical power modulation, and large-area three-beam delivery of 3 mW to the physics package. Fully electrically controlled, the engine enables sustained 3D-MOT operation, trapping more than 1 million atoms at an average temperature of 350 uK and supporting atom-number and temperature measurements. These results demonstrate the first single-chip integration of light generation, control, and delivery for cold-atom generation, offering a path toward smaller, more robust, and manufacturable cold-atom systems for applications including cold-atom clocks and sensors.

O. Svelto