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Institute of Physics eBooks

History of our laser experiments

Ignacio Enrique Olivares Bahamondes, Patrick Carrazana

Published Sep 1, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Our aim was to understand the physics of laser isotope separation and to study the possibility to scale the method to a large scale production. After achieving first results the program was closed and one of us (Ignacio E Olivares) moved to the Universidad de Santiago de Chile starting a project of laser cooling and trapping of rubidium atoms. Although the equipment was totally new and adapted to a different wavelength many techniques that we obtained from laser isotope separation were useful for the magneto optical trap. We also continue studying the absorption of lithium and laser stabilization techniques such as the Pound–Drever–Hall method. We considered that a key experimental technique for lithium isotope separation and for laser cooling is the Pound–Drever–Hall method for laser stabilization. This technique of laser stabilization is discussed in this book.

DOI
10.1088/978-0-7503-3839-4ch1

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•Jan 1, 2011•1 citation
Our aim was to understand the physics of laser isotope separation and to study the possibility to scale the method to a large scale production. After achieving first results the program was closed and one of us (Ignacio E Olivares) moved to the Universidad de Santiago de Chile starting a project of laser cooling and trapping of rubidium atoms. Although the equipment was totally new and adapted to a different wavelength many techniques that we obtained from laser isotope separation were useful for the magneto optical trap. We also continue studying the absorption of lithium and laser stabilization techniques such as the Pound–Drever–Hall method. We considered that a key experimental technique for lithium isotope separation and for laser cooling is the Pound–Drever–Hall method for laser stabilization. This technique of laser stabilization is discussed in this book.
We are attempting to produce an atomic vapor that is so cold that the de Broglie wavelength is larger than the interparticle spacing. This is the condition needed to obtain Bose-Einstein condensation of a noninteracting gas. Our approach is to optically trap and cool atomic cesium and then load it into a purely magnetic trap for further cooling. In the course of this work we have investigated a number of magnetic traps and very low temperature collisions that are relevant to the success of this approach. In other work we are developing optical trapping techniques for the efficient collection of radioactive alkali isotopes. This work is aimed at measuring parity violation in these isotopes and thereby stringently testing the standard model of elementary particle physics. We have studied how to optimize the capture efficiency of atoms in an atomic vapor. We are currently developing cells that will allow the atoms to bounce off the walls until they are captured in the optical trap. The efficiency of this capture scheme will be discussed.
Stabilization of 866866866 nm laser with Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique for quantum manipulation of Ca+ ion in Paul trap
This article provides an introduction to one of the most efficient laser stabilization techniques - the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) method. The aim of the experiment is to build the PDH stabilization apparatus from scratch. I describe all the necessary theoretical treatment to formulate the technique and then describe it as I have experimentally implemented in the lab. All major sources of noise are discussed and noise tackling methods are implemented. All the equipments used are also described in detail for their principle and working.
The work described in this thesis is related to various projects that I worked on towards the production of ultra-cold ensembles of ⁸⁵Rb, ⁸⁷Rb and fermionic ⁶Li. In the past few years, ultra-cold atomic gases have evolved into a mature field of research, driving various theoretical and experimental groups towards new possibilities. This thesis starts with an overview of the research direction of the field and the lab in particular, to use ultra-cold fermionic atoms as quantum simulators for several condensed matter problems. It discusses the experimental route to quantum degeneracy in a sample of ultra-cold atoms and techniques to get there. The rest of the thesis primarily discusses the first step to degeneracy- production of ultra-cold ensembles of rubidium and lithium. It starts with the theoretical concepts that enable laser cooling and trapping. The interaction between light and atoms and how it leads to a decrease in temperature of the ensemble is discussed. The limits of different cooling mechanism with relevance of the atoms of interest are described. The starting point for all laser cooling experiments is an atomic source, the details of the requirements and efficiency of different atomic sources is discussed, emphasizing our choice of sources for the two atoms. Other technical details such as the vacuum system and the control system for the experiment are briefly discussed. Preliminary data from our first ensembles of ultra-cold lithium and rubidium is shown. At the end, the planning and progress of the first experiments that we aim to achieve with these ultra-cold atoms namely looking for Feshbach resonances and studying the effect of DC electric fields on them, and studies with ultra-cold lithium atoms in optical lattices, is discussed.