Slow Atomic Beam Generator, Physical Package, Physical Package for Optical Lattice Clock, Physical Package for Atomic Clock, Physical Package for Atomic Interferometer, Physical Package for Quantum Information Processing Device, and Physical Package System

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024114611-A1
Application number	US-202118038476-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 8, 2021
Priority date	Nov 25, 2020
Publication date	Apr 4, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

By heating a high-temperature bath with a heater, atomic gas is generated in the high-temperature bath from an atomic source. A magneto-optical trap is realized by a laser beam reflected by a right-angled conical mirror and a magnetic field formed by a magnetic field generator, and the atomic gas is confined by using the magneto-optical trap and cooled. The cooled atoms are output from an opening to the outside of a slow atom beam generator by a laser beam, which is a push laser beam. A slow atomic beam is thereby formed.

First claim

1 . A slow atomic beam generation device, comprising:
a high-temperature bath that comprises an atom source, an optical window which is provided at one end and through which laser light is allowed to pass, and a right-angle conical mirror that is provided at another end, the right-angle conical mirror comprises an opening at an apex, and reflects, toward the one end, the laser light having entered through the optical window, by a portion other than the opening; a heater that generates atomic gas in the high-temperature bath from the atom source, by heating the high-temperature bath; a magnetic field generation device that generates a magnetic field in an area where the laser light reflected by the right-angle conical mirror intersects; and a thermal radiation shield that covers the portion of the high-temperature bath other than the opening, wherein the slow atomic beam generation device forms an atomic beam from the atomic gas through use of a magneto-optical trap realized by the laser light and the magnetic field, and emits the atomic beam through the opening to an outside.

2 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the atom source is strontium.

3 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the atom source is ytterbium.

4 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic field generation device is disposed in a space enclosed by the thermal radiation shield.

5 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic field generation device is disposed outside of a space enclosed by the thermal radiation shield.

6 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a cold filter optical window provided on an optical path of the laser light entering the optical window, between the optical window and the right-angle conical mirror.

7 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the coil serves as both the magnetic field generation device and the heater.

8 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 7 , further comprising
a control device that generates a magnetic field for realizing the magneto-optical trap from the coil, and generates heat for heating the high-temperature bath from the coil, by controlling a current flowing through the coil.

9 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic field generation device is a permanent magnet that has a cylindrical shape covering the high-temperature bath, and is magnetized in a radial direction.

10 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic field generation device is an antisymmetric winding tetracoil that forms an antisymmetric current distribution with respect to a center point.

11 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a control device, wherein the high-temperature bath has a 2n-axis-symmetric shape, n is an integer of two or greater, the magnetic field generation device is 2n where n is an integer of two or greater, rectangular-shaped or saddle-shaped coils that have an identical shape and are provided on side surfaces enclosing 2n rotationally symmetric axes of the high-temperature bath, and the control device generates a two-dimensional quadrupole magnetic field from the magnetic field generation device, by flowing currents of coils which face each other and between which the 2n rotationally symmetric axes intervene, in directions opposite to each other.

12 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the high-temperature bath has a 2n-axis-symmetric shape, n is an integer of two or greater, the magnetic field generation device is 2n where n is an integer of two or greater, quadrangular prism-shaped or arc prism-shaped permanent magnets that have an identical shape and are provided on side surfaces enclosing 2n rotationally symmetric axes of the high-temperature bath, and the permanent magnets are magnetized in angular directions with respect to the symmetric axes, and magnetization directions of the permanent magnets facing each other with intervention of the 2n rotationally symmetric axes are opposite to each other, forming a two-dimensional quadrupole magnetic field.

13 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a detachable vacuum-tight window, wherein the vacuum-tight window is detached, and the atom source is installed in the high-temperature bath, or the atom source is taken out from the high-temperature bath.

14 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the high-temperature bath and the right-angle conical mirror are made of aluminum, a metal coated with aluminum, or an insulator coated with aluminum.

15 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the high-temperature bath and the right-angle conical mirror are made of silver, a metal coated with silver, or an insulator coated with silver.

16 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the high-temperature bath and the right-angle conical mirror are made of glass coated with an optical multi-layer film.

17 . The slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the optical window is made of sapphire.

18 . A physics package, comprising:
the slow atomic beam generation device according to claim 1 ; and a vacuum chamber that encloses a clock transition space where atoms are arranged.

19 . A physics package for an optical lattice clock, comprising the physics package according to claim 18 .

20 . A physics package for an atomic clock, comprising the physics package according to claim 18 .

21 . A physics package for an atom interferometer, comprising the physics package according to claim 18 .

22 . A physics package for a quantum information processing device for atoms or ionized atoms, the physics package comprising the physics package according to claim 18 .

23 . A physics package system, comprising:
the physics package according to claim 18 ; and a control device that controls operation of the physics package.

Assignees

• Jeol Ltd
• Riken

Inventors

• Tsuji Shigenori
• Takamoto Masao
• Katori Hidetoshi

Classifications

• H05H3/02 Primary

  Molecular or atomic-beam generation, e.g. resonant beam generation · CPC title

• G04F5/14 Primary

  using atomic clocks · CPC title

• H01S1/06

  Gaseous {, i.e. beam masers} · CPC title