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VECSEL systems for generation and manipulation of trapped magnesium ions

Published

Author(s)

Shaun C. Burd, David T. Allcock, Tomi Leinonen, Jussi-Pekka Penttinen, Daniel H. Slichter, Raghavendra Srinivas, Andrew C. Wilson, Robert Jordens, Micrea Guina, Dietrich G. Leibfried, David J. Wineland

Abstract

Experiments in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics rely on lasers at many different wave- lengths and with varying requirements on spectral linewidth, power and intensity stability. Vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs), when combined with nonlinear frequency conversion, can potentially replace many of the laser systems currently in use. Here we present and characterize VECSEL systems that can perform all laser-based tasks for quantum information processing experiments with trapped magnesium ions. For photoionization of neutral magnesium, 570.6 nm light is generated with an intracavity frequency-doubled VECSEL containing a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal for second harmonic generation. External frequency doubling produces 285.3 nm light for resonant interaction with the 1 S0 ↔ 1 P1 transition of neutral Mg. Using an externally frequency-quadrupled VECSEL, we implement Doppler cooling of 25Mg+ on the 279.6nm 2S1/2 ↔ 2P3/2 cycling transition, repumping on the 280.4nm 2S1/2 ↔ 2P1/2 sidebandcoolingclosetothemotionalground state. Our systems serve as prototypes for applications in AMO requiring multiple-wavelength, single- frequency, power-scalable laser systems.
Citation
Optica

Keywords

Lasers, frequency doubled, Laser cooling, Quantum information and processing, Semiconductor lasers, Spectroscopy, high resolution, Spectroscopy, ionization, Spectroscopy, trapped ion

Citation

Burd, S. , Allcock, D. , Leinonen, T. , Penttinen, J. , Slichter, D. , Srinivas, R. , Wilson, A. , Jordens, R. , Guina, M. , Leibfried, D. and Wineland, D. (2016), VECSEL systems for generation and manipulation of trapped magnesium ions, Optica, [online], https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.3.001294 (Accessed December 10, 2024)

Issues

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Created November 8, 2016, Updated November 10, 2018