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arXiv · 2005.09811

A magneto-optical trap with millimeter ball lenses

Cainan S. Nichols·Leo M. Nofs·Michael A. Viray·Lu Ma·Eric Paradis·Georg Raithel
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Abstract

We present a magneto-optical trap (MOT) design based on millimeter ball lenses, contained within a metal cube of 0.75$^{\prime \prime}$ side length. We present evidence of trapping approximately $4.2\times 10^5$ of $^{85}$Rb atoms with a number density of $3.2\times 10^9$ atoms/cm$^{3}$ and a loading time of 1.3 s. Measurement and a kinetic laser-cooling model are used to characterize the atom trap design. The design provides several advantages over other types of MOTs: the laser power requirement is low, the small lens and cube sizes allow for miniaturization of MOT applications, and the lack of large-diameter optical beam pathways prevents external blackbody radiation from entering the trapping region.

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Cainan S. Nichols, Leo M. Nofs, Michael A. Viray, Lu Ma, Eric Paradis, Georg Raithel. 2020-05-20. A magneto-optical trap with millimeter ball lenses. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.14.044013

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