Fast switching of alkali atom dispensers using laser-induced heating
- 1 September 2005
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Review of Scientific Instruments
- Vol. 76 (9)
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2038167
Abstract
We show that by using an intense laser source to locally heat an alkali atom dispenser, one can generate a high flux of atoms followed by fast recovery (<100 ms) of the background pressure when the laser is extinguished. For repeated heating pulses a switch-on time for the atomic flux of 200 ms is readily attainable. This technique is suited to ultracold atom experiments using simple ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chambers. Laser-induced heating provides a fast repetition of the experimental cycle, which, combined with low atom loss due to background gas collisions, is particularly useful for experiments involving far-off resonance optical traps, where sufficient laser power (0.5–4 W) is readily availablKeywords
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