SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

T. Campey

Publications and source records attributed to T. Campey.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Calibration of a single atom detector for atomic micro chips

We experimentally investigate a scheme for detecting single atoms magnetically trapped on an atom chip. The detector is based on the photoionization of atoms and the subsequent detection of the generated ions. We describe the characterization of the ion detector with emphasis on its calibration via the correlation of ions with simultaneously generated electrons. A detection efficiency of 47.8% (+-2.6%) is measured, which is useful for single atom detection, and close to the limit allowing atom counting with sub-Poissonian uncertainty.

quant-ph

Atom counting in ultra-cold gases using photoionisation and ion detection

We analyse photoionisation and ion detection as a means of accurately counting ultra-cold atoms. We show that it is possible to count clouds containing many thousands of atoms with accuracies better than $N^{-1/2}$ with current technology. This allows the direct probing of sub-Poissonian number statistics of atomic samples. The scheme can also be used for efficient single atom detection with high spatio-temporal resolution. All aspects of a realistic detection scheme are considered, and we discuss experimental situations in which such a scheme could be implemented.

cond-mat.other