All-diode-laser cooling of single Ca+ ions

+ ions. The Ca⁺ ions are trapped in a miniature rf Paul trap and irradiated by light from a frequency-doubled diode laser at 397 nm and by light from a diode laser at 866 nm. We are able to cool a single ion and observe its fluorescence continuously with the laser diode locked to the external frequency-doubling cavity. Quantum jumps in the fluorescence light of a single ion and of a small cloud of five ions have been induced by driving the “clock” transition at 729 nm. We were able to resolve the influence of the micromotion on the excitation spectrum of the small ion cloud. Received: 10 July 1997/Revised version: 17 November 1997