High-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules.
We demonstrate and characterize a high-flux beam source for cold, slow atoms or molecules. The desired species is vaporized using laser ablation, then cooled by thermalization in a cryogenic cell of buffer gas. The beam is formed by particles exiting a hole in the buffer gas cell. We characterize the properties of the beam (flux, forward velocity, temperature) for both an atom (Na) and a molecule (PbO) under varying buffer gas density, and discuss conditions for optimizing these beam parameters. Our source compares favorably to existing techniques of beam formation, for a variety of applications.
Maxwell
S E
SE
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Brahms
N
N
deCarvalho
R
R
Glenn
D R
DR
Helton
J S
JS
Nguyen
S V
SV
Patterson
D
D
Petricka
J
J
DeMille
D
D
Doyle
J M
JM