Microwave sidebands for laser cooling by direct modulation of a tapered amplifier
Abstract
Laser cooling of atoms usually necessitates several laser frequencies. Alkaline atoms, for example, are cooled by two lasers with a frequency difference in the Gigahertz range. This gap cannot be closed with simple shifting techniques. Here, we present a method of generating sidebands at 6.6 GHz by modulating the current of a tapered amplifier which is seeded by an unmodulated master laser. The sidebands enable trapping of 1.1*10^9 Rubidium 87 atoms in a chip-based magneto-optical trap. Compared to the direct modulation of the master laser, this method allows for an easy implementation, a fast adjustment over a wide frequency range and the simultaneous extraction of unmodulated light for manipulation and detection. The low power consumption, small size and applicability for multiple frequencies benefits a wide range of applications, reaching from atom-based mobile sensors to the laser cooling of molecules.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1306.0402,
title = {Microwave sidebands for laser cooling by direct modulation of a tapered amplifier},
author = {Jan Mahnke and Sascha Kulas and Ilka Geisel and Stefan Jöllenbeck and Wolfgang Ertmer and Carsten Klempt},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.0402},
year = {2013}
}