Fast switching of alkali atom dispensers using laser induced heating

Griffin, P.F.; Weatherill, K.J.; Adams, C.S.

Abstract

We show that by using an intense laser source to locally heat an alkali atom dispenser, one can generate a high flux of atoms followed by fast recovery (<100 ms) of the background pressure when the laser is extinguished. For repeated heating pulses a switch-on time for the atomic flux of 200 ms is readily attainable. This technique is suited to ultracold atom experiments using simple ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chambers. Laser-induced heating provides a fast repetition of the experimental cycle, which, combined with low atom loss due to background gas collisions, is particularly useful for experiments involving far-off resonance optical traps, where sufficient laser power (0.5–4 W) is readily available

Citation

Griffin, P., Weatherill, K., & Adams, C. (2005). Fast switching of alkali atom dispensers using laser induced heating. Review of Scientific Instruments, 76(9), https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2038167

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2005
• Deposit Date: Oct 1, 2010
• Journal: Review of Scientific Instruments
• Print ISSN: 0034-6748
• Electronic ISSN: 1089-7623
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 76
• Issue: 9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2038167
• Publisher URL: http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=RSINAK000076000009093102000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes