Photonic integrated beam delivery for a rubidium 3D magneto-optical trap

Abstract

Cold atoms are important for precision atomic applications including timekeeping and sensing. The 3D magneto-optical trap (3D-MOT), used to produce cold atoms, will benefit from photonic integration to improve reliability and reduce size, weight, and cost. These traps require the delivery of multiple, large area, collimated laser beams to an atomic vacuum cell. Yet, to date, beam delivery using an integrated waveguide approach has remained elusive. Here we report the demonstration of a87Rb 3D-MOT using a fiber-coupled photonic integrated circuit to deliver all beams to cool and trap > 1 ×106atoms to near 200 μK. The silicon nitride photonic circuit transforms fiber-coupled 780 nm cooling and repump light via waveguides to three mm-width non-diverging free-space cooling and repump beams directly to the rubidium cell. This planar, CMOS foundry-compatible integrated beam delivery is compatible with other components, such as lasers and modulators, promising system-on-chip solutions for cold atom applications.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 29, 2023
Source ID
10.1038/s41467-023-38818-6

Entities

People

  • Andrei Isichenko
  • Daniel J Bluementhal
  • Debapam Bose
  • Jiawei Wang
  • Nitesh Chauhan
  • Paul D. Kunz

Organizations

  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electronics Engineering
  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Space