We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a medium-finesse Fabry-Pérot cavity for simultaneous frequency stabilization of two lasers operating at 960 and 780 nm wavelengths, respectively. The lasers are applied in experiments with ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms, for which a combined laser linewidth similar to the natural Rydberg linewidth (≈ 10 kHz) is desired. The cavity, with a finesse of ≈ 1500, is used to reduce the linewidth of the lasers to below this level. By using a spacer made of ultra low expansion (ULE ® ) glass with active temperature stabilization, the residual frequency drift is limited to 1 MHz/day. The design optimizes for ease of construction, robustness, and affordability.
We use the sensitive response to electric fields of Rydberg atoms to characterize all three vector components of the local electric field close to an atom-chip surface. We measured Stark-Zeeman maps of S and D Rydberg states using an elongated cloud of ultracold Rubidium atoms (T ∼ 2.5 µK) trapped magnetically 100 µm from the chip surface. The spectroscopy of S states yields a calibration for the generated local electric field at the position of the atoms. The values for different components of the field are extracted from the more complex response of D states to the combined electric and magnetic fields. From the analysis we find residual fields in the two uncompensated directions of 0.0 ± 0.2 V/cm and 1.98 ± 0.09 V/cm respectively. This method also allows us to extract a value for the relevant field gradient along the long axis of the cloud. The manipulation of electric fields and the magnetic trapping are both done using on-chip wires, making this setup a promising candidate to observe Rydberg-mediated interactions on a chip.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.