Enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio of ultracold polar NaCs molecular spectra by phase locking detection

We report a method of high-sensitively detecting the weak signal in photoassociation(PA) spectra of ultracold NaCs molecules by phase sensitive-demodulated trap-loss spectra of Na atoms from a photomultiplier tube. We find that the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of the PA spectra is strongly dependent on the integration time and the sensitivity of the lockin amplifier, and our results show reasonable agreement with the theoretical analyses of the SNR with the demodulation parameters. Meanwhile, we investigate the effect of the interaction time of the PA laser with the colliding Na–Cs atom pairs on the SNR of the PA spectra. The atom loss rate is dependent on both the PA-induced atom loss and the loading of the MOT. The high-sensitive detection of the excited ultracold NaCs molecules lays a solid foundation for further study of the formation and application of ultracold NaCs molecules.