A reciprocal magnetic trap for neutral atoms

A novel magnetic trap for confining ultracold neutral atoms in a ring is proposed. The magnetic trap is generated by a microfabricated ferromagnetic structure integrated on an “atom chip”. The structure is based on previously demonstrated fabrication techniques and is capable of creating tightly confining reciprocal traps with trap frequencies as large as 50 kHz. Also, the trap exhibits significantly smaller magnetic field inhomogeneities compared to other proposals for current-based reciprocal traps. The suitability of this trap for atom interferometry and the study of low dimensional ultracold systems is outlined.     

A thin wire ion trap to study ion–atom collisions built within a Fabry–Perot cavity

We report on the implementation of a thin wire Paul trap with tungsten wire electrodes for trapping ions. The ion trap geometry, though compact, allows large optical access enabling a moderate finesse Fabry–Perot cavity to be built along the ion trap axis. The design allows a vapor-loaded magneto-optical trap of alkali atoms to be overlapped with trapped atomic or molecular ions. The construction and design of the trap are discussed, and its operating parameters are determined, both experimentally and numerically, for Rb⁺. The macromotion frequencies of the ion trap for ⁸⁵Rb⁺ are determined to be f _r  = 43 kHz for the radial and f _z  = 54 kHz for the axial frequencies, for the experimentally determined optimal operating parameters. The destructive off axis ion extraction and detection by ion counting is demonstrated. Finally, evidence for the stabilization and cooling of trapped ions, due to ion–atom interactions, is presented by studying the ion-atom mixture as a function of interaction time. The utility and flexibility of the whole apparatus, for a variety of atomic physics experiments, are discussed in conclusion.     

非平衡磁控溅射双势阱静电波动及其共振耦合

非平衡磁控靶表面电场和磁场相互正交构成磁阱结构,磁控靶和与之平行的偏压基片之间形成了另一种势阱结构,等离子体静电波动在这两种势阱结构中形成耦合共振.采用Langmuir探针研究等离子体中参数和浮置电位信号的功率谱密度.典型放电条件下两种势阱结构中的本征频率分别约为30—50 kHz和10—20 kHz,两种势阱条件下根据声驻波共振模式计算的电子温度数值与实验结果相符合.     

A planar Penning trap

We present a new concept for a Penning trap, which is planar and allows for the implementation of novel confinement techniques. The trap provides confinement perpendicular to its plane by an electric potential minimum while a superimposed magnetic field provides radial confinement. Both the axial position and the depth of the potential minimum can be controlled by the applied voltages. The device is scalable in the sense that an arbitrary number of planar traps can be embedded in one plane thus representing a multitrap array which can be used for particle interaction studies. Switches between different traps in the planar array allow for controlled interactions between the single stored particles.     

Bose–Einstein condensation in a mm-scale Ioffe–Pritchard trap

We have constructed a mm-scale Ioffe–Pritchard trap capable of providing axial field curvature of 7800 G/cm² with only 10.5 A of driving current. Our novel fabrication method involving electromagnetic coils formed of anodized aluminum strips is compatible with ultra-high vacuum conditions, as demonstrated by our using the trap to produce Bose–Einstein condensates of 10^{6 87}Rb atoms. The strong axial curvature gives access to a number of experimentally interesting configurations such as tightly confining prolate, nearly isotropic, and oblate spheroidal traps, as well as traps with variable tilt angles with respect to the nominal axial direction. PACS 03.75.Nt, 32.80.Pj, 05.30.Jp.     

Electron traps in CdS single crystals obtained by admittance spectroscopy on the hetero- and Schottky junctions

The electron trap parameters in semiconducting CdS single crystals were obtained by admittance spectroscopy on its hetero- and Schottky junctions, and the trap depths obtained were 0.065, 0.09, 0.15 0.20, and 0.40 eV. The capture cross-section of the shallowest trap on the Cd-face of the crystals was about 10⁻¹⁹ cm², one order smaller than that of the bulk crystal. The resolving power of the employed method was about 50 meV to distinguish the two traps with different depths. The results of the computer simulation of this method suggested that the trap can be determined when the trap density is at least one order lower than the donor density. The calculated density of the each trap was 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for the shallowest trap and 2×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ for the remaining traps, respectively.     

Suitability of linear quadrupole ion traps for large Coulomb crystals

Growing and studying large Coulomb crystals, composed of tens to hundreds of thousands of ions, in linear quadrupole ion traps presents new challenges for trap implementation. We consider several trap designs, first comparing the total driven micromotion amplitude as a function of location within the trapping volume; total micromotion is an important point of comparison since it can limit crystal size by transfer of radiofrequency drive energy into thermal energy. We also compare the axial component of micromotion, which leads to first-order Doppler shifts along the preferred spectroscopy axis in precision measurements on large Coulomb crystals. Finally, we compare trapping potential anharmonicity, which can induce nonlinear resonance heating by shifting normal mode frequencies onto resonance as a crystal grows. We apply a non-deforming crystal approximation for simple calculation of these anharmonicity-induced shifts, allowing a straightforward estimation of when crystal growth can lead to excitation of different nonlinear heating resonances. In the anharmonicity point of comparison, we find significant differences between the trap designs, with an original rotated-endcap trap performing better than the conventional in-line endcap trap.     

直流电源耦合高功率脉冲非平衡磁控溅射电离特性

采用直流电源放电形成高功率脉冲非平衡磁控溅射(dc-high power impulse unbalanced magnetron sputtering,dc-HPPUMS 或dc-HiPiUMS),利用雪崩放电的击穿机理形成深度自触发放电,同轴线圈和空心阴极控制放电特性和提高功率密度.磁阱俘获雪崩放电形成的二次电子和形成漂移电流,形成了大电流脉冲放电,放电脉冲电流密度峰值超过100 A/cm²,脉冲频率小于40 Hz.由于放电等离子体远没有达到平衡状态,放电电流主要受到空间电荷效应 关键词： 放电 脉冲技术     

Possible measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antiprotons in the presence of “strong” patch effect electrical fields

The role of electrical fields due to the patch effect in a Penning trap used to measure the Earth's gravitational accelerationg on antiprotons is analyzed. Theg measurement method is based on the study of the gravity-induced shift of the center of the radial orbits of particles stored in a Penning trap having the magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity. The analysis of the radial motion shows that forces originating from patch effect electrical fields about ten times stronger than the force of gravity, still allow a differential measurement ofg for antiprotons and matter particles (H^–). As the precision of the measurement is affected by the particle axial energy distribution, particular care must be devoted to injecting antiprotons and H^– ions into the trap with very similar initial conditions.     

Trapping positrons for low energy antihydrogen production

A method of trapping large numbers of positrons at liquid helium temperatures in a 6 Tesla magnetic field is described. Positrons from a sodium-22 source are moderated to low energies with a tungsten reflection moderator. A Penning trap with hyperbolic electrodes holds the positrons in a magnetron (EXB) orbit. The positrons are then cooled via coupling to a tuned circuit that is in resonance with the axial oscillation of the positrons. At this point, many slow positrons are permanently trapped in the Penning trap. The positrons are centered in the trap by applying a radio-frequency field at a frequency near the sum of the axial and magnetron frequencies. This method promises to produce 10⁶ trapped positrons at a density of 10⁷ to 10⁸ per cm³. Such densities of positrons would be useful in producing antihydrogen in combination with existing antiproton plasmas.     

Effect of Ag underlayer thickness on the microstructure and magnetic properties of L10-FePt films

FePt/Ag films were deposited on thermally oxidized Si(100) substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature and then the as-deposited films were annealed at 500 ^°C. The microstructure and magnetic properties of the films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results indicate that introduction of the Ag underlayer promotes an ordering transformation of the FePt phase due to thermal tensile stress between the Ag underlayer and the FePt film. The in-plane tensile stress induced by the Ag underlayer should stretch the horizontal lattice parameter of FePt; thus, it is helpful for the ordering transformation. With increasing Ag underlayer thickness, the ordering parameter and coercivity first increase and then decrease. When the Ag underlayer thickness is 12 nm, the ordering parameter and coercivity of the film reach the maximum values, respectively. The Ag underlayer thickness also affects the magnetization reversal mechanism.     

Towards surface quantum optics with Bose–Einstein condensates in evanescent waves

We present a surface trap which enables the study of coherent interactions between ultracold atoms and evanescent waves. The trap combines a magnetic Joffe trap with a repulsive evanescent dipole potential. Exploiting the advantages of both approaches this technique improves recent surfaces traps, which are based either on magnetic or optical traps alone. On the one hand, the position of the magnetic trap can be controlled with high precision which makes it possible to move ultracold atoms to the surface of a glass prism or to withdraw the atoms from the surface in a controlled way. On the other hand, the optical potential of the evanescent wave partially compensates for strong attractive surface forces and generates a potential barrier at only a few hundred nanometers from the surface. This barrier prevents the surface potentials from limiting the trap depth of the magnetic trap. The surface trap is probed with ⁸⁷Rb Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), which are stably positioned at distances from the surfaces below one micrometer.     

Stability of a charged particle in a combined Penning-Ioffe trap

The axial symmetry of a familiar Penning trap is broken by adding the radial magnetic field of an Ioffe trap. Despite the resulting loss of a confinement theorem, stable orbits related to adiabatic invariants are identified, expressions are given for their frequencies, and resonances that must be avoided are characterized. It seems feasible to experimentally realize the new Penning-Ioffe trap to test these theoretical predictions. It also may be possible to simultaneously confine cold positrons and antiprotons in a Penning-Ioffe trap, along with any cold antihydrogen they may form.     

Determination of the geometric parameters κz and κr of a linear Paul trap

An effective method for determining the geometric parameters of a linear Paul trap is provided and carried out in this paper. The method is based on exciting the secular motion of laser-cooled Ca⁺ ions in a linear Paul trap with varied trapping potentials. Taking advantage of the segmented structure of the linear Paul trap, both the axial and the radial geometric parameters are obtained by applying external excitation fields to the trapping electrodes directly. The axial geometric parameter of our linear Paul trap is determined to be 0.374(3), and, for the first time, the radial geometric parameter is determined to be 0.928(2).     

Field dependence of spin and orbital moments of Fe in L10 FePt magnetic thin films

The field dependence of spin and orbital magnetic moments of Fe in L1₀ FePt magnetic thin films was investigated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The spin and orbital moments were calculated using the sum rules; it was found that the spin and orbital moment of Fe in L1₀ FePt films are ∼2.5 and 0.2 μ_B, respectively. The relative XMCD asymmetry at Fe L₃ peak on the dependence of applied field suggested that the majority magnetic moment of L1₀ FePt films resulted from Fe.     

Fast-axial-flow CO2-laser with integrated turbo-blower

A new type of CO₂-laser with high-power capability is described. It employs fast axial flow driven by a high-frequency radial impeller. Due to the coaxial design which integrates discharge tube, blower, and gas cooler into a single cylindrical housing, a very compact laser unit is realized. The discharge is rf excited (13.56 MHz). With a specific input power of 21 W/cm³ an output of 800 W is generated at an efficiency of 16%. The discharge can easily be operated in a pulsed mode with frequencies up to 10 kHz.     

Quadrupole-induced resonant-particle transport in a pure electron plasma

Small transverse magnetic quadrupole fields sharply degrade the confinement of non-neutral plasmas held in Malmberg-Penning traps. For example, a quadrupole magnetic field of only 0.02 G/cm doubles the diffusion rate in a trap with a 100 G axial magnetic field. Larger quadrupole fields noticeably change the shape of the plasma. The transport is greatest at an orbital resonance. These results cast doubt on plans to use magnetic quadrupole neutral atom traps to confine antihydrogen atoms created in double-well positron/antiproton Malmberg-Penning traps.     

Flux pinning by a barrier on the surface of YBaCuO grains studied in dynamic regime

The model of a surface barrier was found to explain well the observed behaviour in quasi-static magnetization experiments on highT_csuperconductors. We study this phenomenon in dynamic conditions in an AC magnetic field with frequencies ranging from 3 Hz up to 115 kHz. The experimental data recorded on a polycrystalline YBaCuO sample are explained by a model supposing the existence of an intergrain critical state and the barrier on the surface of the grains. The most striking feature we found is the decrease of the surface barrier with increasing frequency.     

Enhancement of L10 ordered FePt by Pt buffer layer

L₁₀-ordered FePt thin films prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy on MgO (0 0 1) substrate at 320 °C with different thickness of Pt buffer layer have been investigated. The out-of-plane coercivity increases with increasing thickness of Pt buffer. The maximum values of the long-range order parameter and uniaxial magnetic anisotropy energy are 0.72 and 1.78×10⁷ erg/cm³, respectively, for films with 12 nm thick Pt buffer layer, where the c/a ratio (0.976) shows the minimum value. The reason for the enhancement in ordering is due to the proper lattice strains Pt buffer bestows on FePt layer, these strains are equal to the contraction in lattice parameter c and the expansion in a. Studies of angular-dependent coercivity revealed that the magnetization reversal behaviour shifts from a domain-wall motion dominated case towards a near rotational mode with increasing thickness of Pt buffer layer.     

Exchange interaction effect of TbCo/FePt bilayers

Interlayer exchange coupling in dc-magnetron sputtered Tb_29.6Co_70.4/FePt bilayers with different annealing temperatures of the FePt film have been investigated. The dependence of ordering degree on perpendicular magnetic properties of the FePt film was studied. The Tb_29.6Co_70.4/FePt film has high perpendicular coercivity and high saturated magnetization about 7.5 kOe, and 302 emu/cm³, respectively as the substrate temperature is 500 °C and annealing at 500 °C for 30 min. It also shows a strong exchange coupling between this FePt layer and Tb_29.6Co_70.4 layer. We also examined the interface wall energy in the exchange coupled Tb_29.6Co_70.4/FePt double layers.