Atom Optics Laboratory

Figure 1. Atom-on-demand apparatus.

Located in the NIST Advanced Measurement Laboratory, the Electron Physics Group Atom Optics Laboratory is a state-of the-art laser-based atom manipulation laboratory with an emphasis on flexibility and high quality equipment. With 130 m² of floor space, the laboratory contains several vacuum systems, a number of vibration-isolating optical tables and a large collection of optomechanics and optical components. Centrally supplied HEPA-filtered air provides 0.25°C temperature stability, making an ideal environment for operating the sensitive laser equipment required for the atom manipulation experiments we perform. Current significant laser equipment includes:

• Two 10W 532-nm lasers and two large frame Ar ion lasers with UV capability for pumping Ti:sapphire or dye lasers.
• Two frequency-stabilized, tunable Ti:sapphire lasers for producing laser light in the 700-900 nm range.
• A frequency-stabilized, tunable dye laser for producing laser light in the 400-700 nm range.
• Three external-cavity frequency doubling systems for producing laser light in the 205-800 nm range.
• Several grating-tuned diode laser systems.
• A 100W CO₂ laser for optical dipole trapping.

For laser manipulation of chromium, laser light at 425 nm is generated by doubling 850 nm Ti:sapphire light using an external cavity, with typical output level of 250 mW. For erbium, a similar approach is used to generate 401 nm light, while narrow-band 841 nm light is generated with a diode laser locked to a stable external cavity. Diode lasers provide repumping and loading control for our single atom chromium source.

Online: January 1996
Last Updated: July 2007