›› 2015, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (2): 24203-024203.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/24/2/024203

• ELECTROMAGNETISM, OPTICS, ACOUSTICS, HEAT TRANSFER, CLASSICAL MECHANICS, AND FLUID DYNAMICS • 上一篇    下一篇

Comparison of two absorption imaging methods to detect cold atoms in magnetic trap

王妍, 胡朝晖, 亓鲁   

  1. Science and Technology on Inertial Laboratory, School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 收稿日期:2014-07-24 修回日期:2014-09-03 出版日期:2015-02-05 发布日期:2015-02-05
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61227902 and 61121003) and the National Defense Basic Scientific Research Program of China (Grant No. B2120132005).

Comparison of two absorption imaging methods to detect cold atoms in magnetic trap

Wang Yan (王妍), Hu Zhao-Hui (胡朝晖), Qi Lu (亓鲁)   

  1. Science and Technology on Inertial Laboratory, School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2014-07-24 Revised:2014-09-03 Online:2015-02-05 Published:2015-02-05
  • Contact: Hu Zhao-Hui E-mail:huzh@buaa.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61227902 and 61121003) and the National Defense Basic Scientific Research Program of China (Grant No. B2120132005).

摘要: Two methods of absorption imaging to detect cold atoms in a magnetic trap are implemented for a high-precision cold atom interferometer. In the first method, a probe laser which is in resonance with a cycle transition frequency is used to evaluate the quantity and distribution of the atom sample. In the second method, the probe laser is tuned to an open transition frequency, which stimulates a few and constant number of photons per atom. This method has a shorter interaction time and results in absorption images which are not affected by the magnetic field and the light field. We make a comparison of performance between these two imaging methods in the sense of parameters such as pulse duration, light intensity, and magnetic field strength. The experimental results show that the second method is more reliable when detecting the quantity and density profiles of the atoms. These results fit well to the theoretical analysis.

关键词: absorption imaging, open-channel transition, cold atoms, magnetic trap

Abstract: Two methods of absorption imaging to detect cold atoms in a magnetic trap are implemented for a high-precision cold atom interferometer. In the first method, a probe laser which is in resonance with a cycle transition frequency is used to evaluate the quantity and distribution of the atom sample. In the second method, the probe laser is tuned to an open transition frequency, which stimulates a few and constant number of photons per atom. This method has a shorter interaction time and results in absorption images which are not affected by the magnetic field and the light field. We make a comparison of performance between these two imaging methods in the sense of parameters such as pulse duration, light intensity, and magnetic field strength. The experimental results show that the second method is more reliable when detecting the quantity and density profiles of the atoms. These results fit well to the theoretical analysis.

Key words: absorption imaging, open-channel transition, cold atoms, magnetic trap

中图分类号:  (Quantum optics)

  • 42.50.-p
32.80.-t (Photoionization and excitation)