Crossed-beam slowing to enhance narrow-line ytterbium magneto-optic traps

• Published in: Review of scientific instruments Vol. 91; no. 9; pp. 093201 - 93206
• Main Authors: Plotkin-Swing, Benjamin, Wirth, Anna, Gochnauer, Daniel, Rahman, Tahiyat, McAlpine, Katherine E., Gupta, Subhadeep
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Atomic beams; Computer simulation; Laser beams; Loading rate; Scientific apparatus & instruments; Ytterbium
• ISSN: 0034-6748; 1089-7623; 1089-7623
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0011361

We demonstrate a method to enhance the atom loading rate of a ytterbium (Yb) magneto-optic trap (MOT) operating on the 556 nm 1S0 → 3P1 intercombination transition (narrow linewidth Γg = 2π × 182 kHz). Following traditional Zeeman slowing of an atomic beam near the 399 nm 1S0 → 1P1 transition (broad linewidth Γp = 2π × 29 MHz), two laser beams in a crossed-beam geometry, frequency tuned near the same transition, provide additional slowing immediately prior to the MOT. Using this technique, we observe an improvement by a factor of 6 in the atom loading rate of a narrow-line Yb MOT. The relative simplicity and generality of this approach make it readily adoptable to other experiments involving narrow-line MOTs. We also present a numerical simulation of this two-stage slowing process, which shows good agreement with the observed dependence on experimental parameters, and use it to assess potential improvements to the method.