A Slow Atom Source using a Collimated Effusive Oven and a Single-Layer Variable Pitch Coil Zeeman Slower

Published

January 22, 2010

Author(s)

Ian B. Spielman, Simon C. Bell, Mark D. Junker, Martijin Jasperse, Lincoln D. Turner, Yu-Ju Lin, Robert E. Scholten

Abstract

We describe a simple slow atom source for loading a rubidium magneto-optical trap. The source includes an effusive oven with a long heated collimation tube. Almost all components are standard vacuum parts. The heating elements and thermocouples are external to the vacuum, protecting them from the hostile hot alkali environment and allowing repair without breaking vacuum. The thermal source is followed by a Zeeman slower with a single-layer coil of variable winding pitch. The single-layer design is simple to construct and has low inductance which allows for rapid switching of the magnetic field. The coil pitch was determined by fitting the analytic form of the magnetic field for a variable winding pitch to the desired magnetic field profile required to slow atoms. The measured magnetic field for the constructed coil was in excellent agreement with the desired field. The source produced atoms at 35 m/s with a flux up to 2 × 10^10 atoms/ cm^2/s at 200 C.

Citation

Review of Scientific Instruments

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

alkali oven, collimated beam, high flux, laser cooling, zeeman slower

Citation

Spielman, I. , Bell, S. , Junker, M. , Jasperse, M. , Turner, L. , Lin, Y. and E., R. (2010), A Slow Atom Source using a Collimated Effusive Oven and a Single-Layer Variable Pitch Coil Zeeman Slower, Review of Scientific Instruments, [online], https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3276712 (Accessed October 27, 2025)