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Physical Review A

Single-ion spectroscopy of four metastable-state clear-out transitions in Yb + : Isotope shifts and hyperfine structure

N. A. Diepeveen, Clara Robalo Pereira, M. Mazzanti, Z. E. D. Ackerman, L. P. H. Gallagher, Tina Timmerman, R. Gerritsma, Rima X. Schüssler

Published Oct 9, 2024• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present spectroscopic data for four metastable state clear-out transitions between 399 nm and 412 nm for all even long-lived isotopes of ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ as well as their hyperfine structure in $^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}$. The strong ${}^{2}{D}_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{1}{[1/2]}_{1/2}$ transition at 412 nm represents an attractive alternative for the standard 935 nm repumper used in cooling and trapping experiments, while the transition to the ${}^{3}{[3/2]}_{3/2}$ state at 411 nm clears out the $^{2}F_{7/2}$ state, for which typically 638 nm or 760 nm is used. These two alternative transitions simplify the experimental setup by removing the need for infrared optics to cool and manipulate ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ and may be of particular interest when considering integrated photonics solutions. We also present data for the transitions $^{2}D_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{3}{[1/2]}_{3/2}$ at 399 nm and $^{2}D_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{1}{[5/2]}_{5/2}$ at 410 nm including decay branching ratios of the excited states.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.042809

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We present spectroscopic data for four metastable state clear-out transitions between 399 nm and 412 nm for all even long-lived isotopes of Yb+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}Yb+ as well as their hyperfine structure in 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+. The strong 2D3/2\ensuremath→1[1/2]1/2{}^{2}{D}_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{1}{[1/2]}_{1/2}2D3/2​\ensuremath→1[1/2]1/2​ transition at 412 nm represents an attractive alternative for the standard 935 nm repumper used in cooling and trapping experiments, while the transition to the 3[3/2]3/2{}^{3}{[3/2]}_{3/2}3[3/2]3/2​ state at 411 nm clears out the 2F7/2^{2}F_{7/2}2F7/2​ state, for which typically 638 nm or 760 nm is used. These two alternative transitions simplify the experimental setup by removing the need for infrared optics to cool and manipulate Yb+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}Yb+ and may be of particular interest when considering integrated photonics solutions. We also present data for the transitions 2D3/2\ensuremath→3[1/2]3/2^{2}D_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{3}{[1/2]}_{3/2}2D3/2​\ensuremath→3[1/2]3/2​ at 399 nm and 2D3/2\ensuremath→1[5/2]5/2^{2}D_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{}^{1}{[5/2]}_{5/2}2D3/2​\ensuremath→1[5/2]5/2​ at 410 nm including decay branching ratios of the excited states.
We present spectroscopic data for four metastable state clear-out transitions between 399 nm and 412 nm for all even long-lived isotopes of Yb+^++ as well as their hyperfine structure in 171^{171}171Yb+^++. The strong 2D3/2→1[1/2]1/2^2 \rm{D}_{3/2} \rightarrow {}^1[1/2]_{1/2}2D3/2​→1[1/2]1/2​ transition at 412 nm represents an attractive alternative for the standard 935 nm repumper used in cooling and trapping experiments, while the transition to the 3[3/2]3/2^3[3/2]_{3/2}3[3/2]3/2​ state at 411 nm clears out the $^2 FFF_{7/2}$ state, for which typically 638 nm or 760 nm are used. These two alternative transitions simplify the experimental setup by removing the need for infrared optics to cool and manipulate Yb+^++ and may be of particular interest when considering integrated photonics solutions. We also present data for the transitions $^2 DDD_{3/2} \rightarrow {}^3[1/2]_{3/2}$ at 399 nm, and $^2 DDD_{3/2} \rightarrow {}^1[5/2]_{5/2}$ at 410 nm including decay branching ratios of the excited states.
High-Resolution Spectroscopy of 173^{173}173Yb+^{+}+ Ions
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We report on spectroscopic results on the $^{2}S_{1/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{2}P_{3/2}$ transition in single trapped Yb+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}Yb+ ions. We measure the isotope shifts for all stable Yb+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}Yb+ isotopes except 173Yb+^{173}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}173Yb+, as well as the hyperfine splitting of the 2P3/2^{2}P_{3/2}2P3/2​ state in 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+. Our results are in agreement with previous measurements but are a factor of 5--9 more precise. For the hyperfine constant A(2P3/2)=875.4(10)MHzA(^{2}P_{3/2})=875.4(10)\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{MHz}A(2P3/2​)=875.4(10)MHz our results also agree with previous measurements but deviate significantly from theoretical predictions. We present experimental results on the branching ratios for the decay of the 2P3/2^{2}P_{3/2}2P3/2​ state. We find branching fractions for the decay to the 2D3/2^{2}D_{3/2}2D3/2​ state and 2D5/2^{2}D_{5/2}2D5/2​ state of 0.17(1)% and 1.08(5)%, respectively, in rough agreement with theoretical predictions. Furthermore, we measured the isotope shifts of the $^{2}F_{7/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{1}D{[5/2]}_{5/2}$ transition and determine the hyperfine structure constant for the 1D[5/2]5/2^{1}D{[5/2]}_{5/2}1D[5/2]5/2​ state in 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+ to be $A(^{1}D{[5/2]}_{5/2})=\ensuremath{-}107(6)\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{MHz}$.
Long-lived metastable states in the 4f$^{13}5d6sconfigurationofYb5d6s configuration of Yb5d6sconfigurationofYb^+$
We study the occurrence of long-lived metastable states in the 4f$^{13}5d6selectronconfigurationofYb5d6s electron configuration of Yb5d6selectronconfigurationofYb^+$. By optical pumping of a single trapped ion on the 2F7/2o→(7/2,0)7/2^2F^\text{o}_{7/2}\rightarrow (7/2,0)_{7/2}2F7/2o​→(7/2,0)7/2​ transition at 377.5 nm, we prepare a wide range of metastable electronic states. We use a co-trapped control ion to sympathetically cool the spectroscopy ion, allowing us to accurately time its subsequent decay. We record a strong decay signal corresponding to a lifetime of 0.92(8) s, a weaker decay signal with lifetime 9.8(+2.9, -2.0) s, and find evidence for a much longer lifetime, >>> 30 s. We identify the metastable states with these lifetimes qualitatively, and corroborate our results with atomic structure calculations that support the observed lifetimes and decay paths. These long-lived states provide new opportunities in qubit and qudit state detection and optical clocks.
Spectroscopy of the 411-nm transition in 171Yb+{}^{171}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ has been performed and the feasibility of its use as an optical frequency standard has been demonstrated. The 2S1/2(F=0,mF=0)−−2D5/2(F=2,mF=0){}^{2}{S}_{1/2}(F=0, {m}_{F}=0){--}^{2}{D}_{5/2}(F=2, {m}_{F}=0)2S1/2​(F=0,mF​=0)−−2D5/2​(F=2,mF​=0) frequency, at zero-magnetic field, has been measured to be 729 487 779 566(153) kHz. This transition is free from the first-order Zeeman shift and has a measured second-order shift of +0.38(8) Hz/(\ensuremath{\mu}T)2{\mathrm{T})}^{2}T)2. In addition, the hyperfine structure of the 2D5/2{}^{2}{D}_{5/2}2D5/2​ level has been deduced by driving the other hyperfine components of the 411-nm transition, showing it to be inverted. The 2D5/2{}^{2}{D}_{5/2}2D5/2​ hyperfine splitting, measured to be -191(2) MHz, implies an A factor of -63.6(7) MHz. These data taken in conjunction with previous work yield an isotope shift of ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{171}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{172}=+1317.1(1.3)\mathrm{MHz}$ for this transition between the 171 and 172 isotopes.
The suitability of the 411-nm ${}^{2}{S}_{1/2}{\ensuremath{-}}^{2}{D}_{5/2}$ transition in Yb+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}Yb+ is assessed as an optical frequency standard. The lifetime of the 2D5/2{}^{2}{D}_{5/2}2D5/2​ level has been measured and found to be 7.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3 ms, which implies a natural linewidth of 22.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.9 Hz for the 411-nm transition. In addition to a decay to the ground state the 2D5/2{}^{2}{D}_{5/2}2D5/2​ level can decay into the highly metastable 2F7/2{}^{2}{F}_{7/2}2F7/2​ level where it is trapped. The branching ratio for decay into the 2F7/2{}^{2}{F}_{7/2}2F7/2​ level has been measured and found to be 0.83\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03. A transition capable of rapidly depopulating the 2F7/2{}^{2}{F}_{7/2}2F7/2​ level and returning the ion to the cooling cycle has been demonstrated. This has enabled a quantum jump measurement of the 411-nm transition in 172Yb+{}^{172}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}172Yb+ to be performed, yielding a center frequency of 729 476 869.13(0.42) MHz (1\ensuremath{\sigma}).