A self-locked magneto-optic trap

C. S. Fletcher, J. E. Lye, N. P. Robins, J. D. Close*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We present a novel technique to lock the frequency of the trapping laser of a magneto-optic trap (MOT) using a signal generated from the ultracold atoms in the MOT itself. This technique utilizes the large number of very cold, slow-moving atoms in the MOT to generate a signal free of Doppler-broadening. A system analogous to Pound-Drever-Hall locking allows an error signal to be generated on resonance without significantly perturbing the MOT. We have successfully stabilized the frequency of the main trapping laser of a 87Rb MOT using this technique to generate a self-locked MOT.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)85-88
    Number of pages4
    JournalOptics Communications
    Volume212
    Issue number1-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2002

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