Loading of the narrow line Tm MOT from a pulsed cold atomic beam

by M. Yaushev, D. Mishin, D. Tregubov, N. Kolachevsky, A. Golovizin

Abstract:

We report on building a pulsed source of cold Tm atoms and loading of the narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) from the cold atomic beam. We achieve the loading rate of the first-stage MOT in the primary chamber up to 108 atoms/s and obtain a cold atomic beam with the mean longitudinal velocity ∼10 m/s and an angular spread of 18 mrad in a pulsed mode. In this regime, we can form a cold atomic beam with up to 5 × 106 atoms at a 5 Hz repetition rate. We also introduce a novel method to enhance the capture velocity of the narrow-line MOT by incorporating an additional axial cooling beam and achieve loading efficiency η = 10% of the second-stage MOT in the science chamber. Our approach could be extended to other atomic species with similar properties, such as Sr, Yb, Dy, and Er, serving as a convenient alternative for the traditional 2D-MOT schemes. Providing rapid loading of the MOT in the science chamber, it would reduce preparation time of the atomic ensemble leading to a shorter dead time in spectroscopy experiments and a higher repetition rate.

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Reference:

Loading of the narrow line Tm MOT from a pulsed cold atomic beam,
M. Yaushev, D. Mishin, D. Tregubov, N. Kolachevsky, A. Golovizin,
Review of Scientific Instruments, 96, 033202, 2025.

Bibtex Entry:

@article{yaushev2025narrowlinemot,
    author = {Yaushev, M. and Mishin, D. and Tregubov, D. and Kolachevsky, N. and Golovizin, A.},
    title = {Loading of the narrow line Tm MOT from a pulsed cold atomic beam},
    journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
    volume = {96},
    number = {3},
    pages = {033202},
    year = {2025},
    month = {03},
    abstract = {We report on building a pulsed source of cold Tm atoms and loading of the narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) from the cold atomic beam. We achieve the loading rate of the first-stage MOT in the primary chamber up to 108 atoms/s and obtain a cold atomic beam with the mean longitudinal velocity ∼10 m/s and an angular spread of 18 mrad in a pulsed mode. In this regime, we can form a cold atomic beam with up to 5 × 106 atoms at a 5 Hz repetition rate. We also introduce a novel method to enhance the capture velocity of the narrow-line MOT by incorporating an additional axial cooling beam and achieve loading efficiency η = 10% of the second-stage MOT in the science chamber. Our approach could be extended to other atomic species with similar properties, such as Sr, Yb, Dy, and Er, serving as a convenient alternative for the traditional 2D-MOT schemes. Providing rapid loading of the MOT in the science chamber, it would reduce preparation time of the atomic ensemble leading to a shorter dead time in spectroscopy experiments and a higher repetition rate.},
    issn = {0034-6748},
    doi = {10.1063/5.0252998},
    url = {https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0252998},
    eprint = {https://pubs.aip.org/aip/rsi/article-pdf/doi/10.1063/5.0252998/20461539/033202_1_5.0252998.pdf},
}