Laser cooling transitions in atomic erbium

H. Y. Ban; M. Jacka; J. L. Hanssen; J. Reader; J. J. McClelland

doi:10.1364/OPEX.13.003185

Optics Express
Vol. 13,
Issue 8,
pp. 3185-3195
(2005)
•https://doi.org/10.1364/OPEX.13.003185

Laser cooling transitions in atomic erbium

H. Y. Ban, M. Jacka, J. L. Hanssen, J. Reader, and J. J. McClelland

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H. Y. Ban, M. Jacka, J. L. Hanssen, J. Reader, and J. J. McClelland, "Laser cooling transitions in atomic erbium," Opt. Express 13, 3185-3195 (2005)

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Abstract

Abstract We discuss laser cooling opportunities in atomic erbium, identifying five J→J+1 transitions from the 4f¹²6s^{2 3}H₆ ground state that are accessible to common visible and near-infrared continuous-wave tunable lasers. We present lifetime measurements for the 4f¹¹(⁴Io_15/2)5d_5/26s² (15/2, 5/2)₇ o state at 11888 cm⁻¹ and the 4f¹¹(4Io _13/2)5d_3/26s² (13/2, 5/2)₇o state at 15847 cm⁻¹, showing values of 20±4 µs and 5.6±1.4 µs, respectively. We also present a calculated value of 13±7 s⁻¹ for the transition rate from the 4f¹¹(⁴Io _15/2)5d_3/26s² (15/2, 3/2)₇ o state at 7697 cm-1 to the ground state, based on scaled Hartree-Fock energy parameters. Laser cooling on these transitions in combination with a strong, fast (5.8 ns) laser cooling transition at 401 nm, suggest new opportunities for narrowband laser cooling of a large-magnetic moment atom, with possible applications in quantum information processing, high-precision atomic clocks, quantum degenerate gases, and deterministic single-atom doping of materials.

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Fig. 1. Energy levels of erbium, showing five laser cooling transitions. Red horizontal lines indicate even parity states and black horizontal lines indicate odd parity states.

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Fig. 2. Schematic of the crossed-beam experimental arrangement.

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Fig. 3. Measured fluorescence spectra for (a) the 631 nm line and (b) the 841 nm line, showing the isotopes ¹⁶⁶Er, ¹⁶⁸Er and ¹⁷⁰Er, and the hyperfine structure (HFS) for ¹⁶⁷Er.

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Fig. 4. 841 nm fluorescence decay at three detector positions relative to the laser-atom beam intersection. (a) 0 mm, (b) 7.5 mm, and (c) 20 mm. Black dots indicate measurements, and red line indicates model used to extract lifetime. Extracted lifetime is 20±4 µs.

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Fig. 5. 631 nm fluorescence decay at three detector positions relative to the laser-atom beam intersection. (a) 0 mm, (b) 2.5 mm, (c) 5 mm, and (d) 7.5 mm. Black dots indicate measurements, and red line indicates model used to extract lifetime. Extracted lifetime is 5.6±1.4 µs.

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Tables (1)

Table 1. Laser cooling parameters for five transitions in Er.

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Laser cooling parameter	Transition (listed by vacuum wavelength)
Laser cooling parameter	400.91 nm	582.84 nm	631.04 nm	841.22 nm	1299.21 nm
Γ	1.7×10⁸ s⁻¹	1.0×10⁶ s⁻¹	1.8×10⁵ s⁻¹	5.0×10⁴ s⁻¹	13 ± 7 ^c s⁻¹
τ	5.8 ns ^a	0.96 µs ^a	5.6 ± 1.4 µs ^b	20 ± 4 µs ^b	75 ms
Δυ	27 MHz	0.17 MHz	28 kHz	8.0 kHz	2.1 Hz
I _sat	560 W m⁻²	1.1 W m⁻²	0.15 W m⁻²	18 mW m⁻²	1.3 µW m⁻²
v _capture	11 m s⁻¹	0.97 m s⁻¹	18 mm s⁻¹	6.7 mm s⁻¹	2.8 µm s⁻¹
T _Doppler	660 µK	4.0 µK	680 nK	190 nK	51 pK
v _Doppler	0.18 m s⁻¹	14 mm s⁻¹	5.8 mm s⁻¹	3.1 mm s⁻¹	50 µm s⁻¹
T _recoil	350 nK	170 nK	140 nK	81 nK	34 nK
v _recoil	5.9 mm s⁻¹	4.1 mm s⁻¹	3.8 mm s⁻¹	2.8 mm s⁻¹	1.8 mm s⁻¹

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