Alkali vapor pressure modulation on the 100 ms scale in a single-cell vacuum system for cold atom experiments

Vincent Dugrain; Peter Rosenbusch; Jakob Reichel

doi:10.1063/1.4892996

Alkali vapor pressure modulation on the 100 ms scale in a single-cell vacuum system for cold atom experiments

Rev Sci Instrum. 2014 Aug;85(8):083112. doi: 10.1063/1.4892996.

Authors

Vincent Dugrain¹, Peter Rosenbusch², Jakob Reichel¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, ENS, UPMC, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
² LNE-SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, 61 av de l'Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France.

PMID: 25173251
DOI: 10.1063/1.4892996

Abstract

We describe and characterize a device for alkali vapor pressure modulation on the 100 ms timescale in a single-cell cold atom experiment. Its mechanism is based on optimized heat conduction between a current-modulated alkali dispenser and a heat sink at room temperature. We have studied both the short-term behavior during individual pulses and the long-term pressure evolution in the cell. The device combines fast trap loading and relatively long trap lifetime, enabling high repetition rates in a very simple setup. These features make it particularly suitable for portable atomic sensors.