Pumping Dynamics of Cold-Atom Experiments in a Single Vacuum Chamber

Abstract

A nonlinear analytical model for the pressure dynamics in a vacuum chamber, pumped with a sputter ion pump (SIP), is proposed, discussed and experimentally evaluated. The model describes the physics of the pumping mechanism of SIPs in the context of a cold-atom experiment. By using this model, we fit pump-down curves of our vacuum system to extract the relevant physical parameters characterizing its pressure dynamics. The aim of this investigation is the optimization of cold-atom experiments in terms of reducing the dead time for quantum sensing using atom interferometry. We develop a calibration method to improve the precision in pressure measurements via the ion current in SIPs. Our method is based on a careful analysis of the gas conductance and pumping in order to reliably link the pressure readings at the SIP with the actual pressure in the vacuum (science) chamber. Our results are in agreement with the existence of essentially two pumping regimes determined by the pressure level in the system. In particular, we find our results in agreement with the well-known fact that for a given applied voltage, at low pressures, the discharge current efficiently sputters pumping material from the pump's electrodes. This process sets the leading pumping mechanism in this limit. At high pressures, the discharge current drops and the pumping is mainly performed by the already sputtered material.