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Direct loading of Yb atoms into a 3D magneto-optical trap from a dispenser atomic source

Junia Nomura, Tomohiko Momma, Yuki Kojima, Yusuke Hisai, Takumi Kobayashi, Daisuke Akamatsu, Feng-Lei Hong

Published Feb 1, 2023• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The realization of cold atoms using a compact and low-power-consumption experimental setup is indispensable for cold atom experiments, including optical clocks and quantum simulations. We demonstrate the direct loading of Yb atoms into a 3D magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a dispenser atomic source without using a Zeeman slower. The power consumption of the dispenser was ∼3 W. Spectroscopy of the atomic beam from the dispenser on the 6s2 1S0–6s6p 1P1 Yb transition at 399 nm shows that the flux of the atomic beam reaches 1.4 × 1013 s−1 cm−2. We can load up to 4.1 × 107 atoms into the MOT with slowing and trapping laser powers of 20.3 and 35.0 mW, respectively. The realized cold atom system is reliable and can be adapted for experiments on alkaline earth and other alkaline earth-like atoms.

DOI
10.1063/5.0140774

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The realization of cold atoms using a compact and low-power-consumption experimental setup is indispensable for cold atom experiments, including optical clocks and quantum simulations. We demonstrate the direct loading of Yb atoms into a 3D magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a dispenser atomic source without using a Zeeman slower. The power consumption of the dispenser was ∼3 W. Spectroscopy of the atomic beam from the dispenser on the 6s2 1S0–6s6p 1P1 Yb transition at 399 nm shows that the flux of the atomic beam reaches 1.4 × 1013 s−1 cm−2. We can load up to 4.1 × 107 atoms into the MOT with slowing and trapping laser powers of 20.3 and 35.0 mW, respectively. The realized cold atom system is reliable and can be adapted for experiments on alkaline earth and other alkaline earth-like atoms.
We demonstrate efficient loading of an Yb three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT) on the 1S0 → 1P1 transition. The experiment employs a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT) as an efficient cold atom source. Through optimization of the 2D MOT, auxiliary Zeeman slower, and push beam parameters that govern atomic capture, we achieve an atomic loading rate of 5 × 106 atoms/s in the 3D MOT, with approximately ∼107 trapped atoms. Our experimental results confirm the successful transfer of a substantial number of atoms from the 2D region to the science chamber via the push beam, providing an experimental foundation for subsequent implementation of narrow-line MOT and two-color MOT.
We report on the design and characterization of a cold atom source for strontium (Sr) based on a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT) that is directly loaded from the atom jet of a dispenser. We characterize the atom flux of the source by measuring the loading rate of a three-dimensional MOT. We find loading rates of up to 108 atoms per second. The setup is compact, easy to construct, and has low power consumption. It addresses the longstanding challenge of reducing the complexity of cold beam sources for Sr, which is relevant for optical atomic clocks, quantum simulation, and computing devices based on ultracold Sr.
We present an experimental setup to laser cool and trap a large number of ytterbium atoms. Our design uses an oven with an array of micro-tubes for efficient collimation of the atomic beam, and we implement a magneto-optical trap of 174Yb on the 1S0 → 1P1 transition at 399 nm. Despite the absence of a Zeeman slower, we obtain a loading of 4 × 109 at./s. We trap up to N = 109 at., where light-assisted collisions become the dominant loss mechanism. We precisely characterize our atomic beam, the loading rate of the magneto-optical trap, and several loss mechanisms relevant for trapping a large number of atoms.
We report the realization of ytterbium magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the dipole-allowed 1 S 0 — 1 P 1 transition at 398.9 nm. The MOT is loaded by a slowed atomic beam produced by a Zeeman slower. All seven stable isotopes of Yb atoms could be trapped separately at different laser detuning values. Over 10 7 174 Yb atoms are collected in the MOT, whereas the atom number of fermionic isotope 171 Yb is roughly 2.3 × 10 6 due to a lower abundance. Without the Zeeman slower, the trapped atom numbers are one order of magnitude lower. Both the even and odd isotopes are recognized as excellent candidates of optical clock transition, so the cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms by the blue MOT is an important step for building an optical clock.
Abstract We present the first implementation of a slow ytterbium atomic beam source based on a compact two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D-MOT) for ytterbium optical clocks. Detailed experiment parameters are optimized through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and experimentally validated by the loading behavior of the subsequent 3D-MOT. Specifically, theoretical modeling reveals significant asymmetry in atomic beam distribution across the differential pumping channel (DPC), indicating critical dependence of the pre-cooled efficiency on the pushing beam alignment. Numerical simulation shows that a deviation of approximately 5◦ between the pushing beam and the normal incidence axis can effectively mitigate the distribution asymmetry and then enhance the 3D-MOT capture efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate a maximum 3D-MOT loading rate of 1.5×10 8 atoms/s with steady-state atom number exceeding 8×10 7 , fully demonstrating the feasibility of this scheme for ytterbium atoms. The system offers a compact design coupled with significantly reduced power consumption. These inherent features establish a robust platform for developing portable optical clocks and other field-deployable quantum technologies.
We report the magneto-optical trapping of ytterbium atoms using the 6s2 1S0-6s6p 3P1 intercombination transition. The magneto-optical trap is continuously loaded from an atomic beam decelerated by a Zeeman-tuned atomic-beam slower operated at the 6s2 1S0-6s6p 1P1 transition. Among seven stable isotopes of ytterbium, six isotopes of 170Yb, 171Yb, 172Yb, 173Yb, 174Yb, and 176Yb are successfully trapped. The number and density of the trapped atoms are about 108 and 1011 cm-3, respectively. The temperature of atoms is estimated to be about 20 μK from the time-of-flight measurement. The decay time of the trapped atoms after stopping the loading of atoms is about 3 s.