Related papers: A single-atom 3D sub-attonewton force sensor
Single-ion mass identification is important for atomic and nuclear physics experiments on ions produced with low yields. Cooling the ion to ultra-low temperatures by interacting with a laser-cooled ion will enhance the precision of the…
Trapping molecular ions that have been sympathetically cooled with laser-cooled atomic ions is a useful platform for exploring cold ion chemistry. We designed and characterized a new experimental apparatus for probing chemical reaction…
Ionization of an atom or molecule presents surprising richness beyond our current understanding: strong-field ionization with low-frequency fields recently revealed unexpected kinetic energy structures (1, 2). A solid grasp on electron…
In the development of atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) physics, atom-ion hybrid systems are characterized by the presence of a new tool in the experimental AMO toolbox: atom-ion interactions. One of the main limitations in…
Isolating neutral and charged particles from the environment is essential in precision experiments. For decades, this has been achieved by trapping ions with radio-frequency (rf) fields and neutral particles with optical fields. Recently,…
The center-of-mass motion of optically trapped dielectric nanoparticles in vacuum is extremely well-decoupled from its environment, making a powerful tool for measurements of feeble sub-attonewton forces. We demonstrate a method to trap and…
Sympathetic cooling of Th$^{3+}$ ions is demonstrated in an experiment where $^{229}$Th and $^{230}$Th are extracted from uranium recoil ion sources and are confined in a linear Paul trap together with laser-cooled $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ions.…
We report on the construction and characterization of an apparatus for quantum information experiments using $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ions. A miniature linear radio-frequency (rf) Paul trap was designed and built. Trap frequencies above 1 MHz in all…
Atomic Parity Violation provides the rare opportunity of a low energy window into possible new fundamental processes at very high mass scales normally investigated at large high energy accelerators. Precise measurements on atomic systems…
We demonstrate a Doppler cooling and detection scheme for ions with low-lying D levels which almost entirely suppresses scattered laser light background, while retaining a high fluorescence signal and efficient cooling. We cool a single ion…
Sympathetic laser cooling of ions stored within a linear-geometry, radio frequency, electric-quadrupole trap has been investigated using computational and theoretical techniques. The simulation, which allows 5 sample ions to interact with…
We propose a new spectroscopic method for measuring weak transitions in cold and trapped atoms, which exploits the long interaction times and tight confinement offered by dark optical traps together with an electron shelving technique to…
We present a simple Paul trap that stably accommodates up to a couple of dozens of \ensuremath{^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^+~} ions in a stationary two-dimensional lattice. The trap is constructed on a single plate of gold-plated laser-machined…
While it is straightforward to count laser-cooled trapped ions by fluorescence imaging, detecting the number of dark ions embedded and sympathetically cooled in a mixed ion crystal is more challenging. We demonstrate a method to track the…
Monolithic three-dimensional (3D) Paul traps combine the high-precision microfabrication of two-dimensional (2D) chip traps with the deep trapping potentials and low heating rates characteristic of macroscopic 3D Paul traps, which are…
A new technique for the fabrication of highly sensitive qPlus sensor for atomic force microscopy (AFM) is described. Focused ion beam was used to cut then weld onto a bare quartz tuning fork a sharp micro-tip from an electrochemically…
We demonstrate thermally limited force spectroscopy using a probe formed by a dielectric microsphere optically trapped in water near a dielectric surface. We achieve force resolution below 1 fN in 100 s, corresponding to a 2 {\AA} rms…
We present the design and fabrication of an endcap-type Paul trap. The trap is designed for studies with Ca$^{+}$ and Yb$^{+}$. The design, fabrication process, and characterization are presented in detail with a focus on trapping a single…
Optical systems capable of generating fields with sub-wavelength spatial features have become standard in science and engineering research and industry. Pertinent examples include atom- and ion-based quantum computers and optical…
Ion-atom interactions are a comparatively recent field of research that has drawn considerable attention due to its applications in areas including quantum chemistry and quantum simulations. In first experiments, atomic ions and neutral…