Phonon Lasing from Optical Frequency Comb Illumination of Trapped Ions

Abstract

We demonstrate the use of a frequency-doubled optical frequency comb to load, cool, and crystallize trapped atomic ions as an alternative to ultraviolet (UV) or even deep UV continuous-wave lasers. We find that the Doppler shift from the atom's oscillation in the trap, driven by the blue-detuned comb teeth, introduces additional cooling and amplification which gives rise to steady-state phonon lasing of the ion's harmonic motion in the trap. The phonon laser's gain saturation keeps the optical frequency comb from continually adding energy without bound. This protection allows us to demonstrate loading and crystallization of hot ions directly with the comb, eliminating the need for a continuous-wave cooling laser, a technique that is extendable to the deep UV.

Cooling of atoms using an optical frequency comb

“…14 and Ip et al . 16 for our experimental parameters δ = − Γ/2, θ = π /160, T R = 12.5 ns and ζ = 1.…”

“…Along the lines of these proposals, the first experiments that demonstrate FC cooling of atoms and ions have recently appeared in the literature 5,15,16 . Jayich et al .…”

“…And just recently, Ip et al . 16 demonstrated loading, cooling and crystallization of hot ytterbium ions using an optical frequency comb due to phonon lasing of the ion’s harmonic motion in the trap which is driven by the blue-detuned comb teeth.…”

Nonlinear phonon laser with dissipation-governed levitated optomechanics

“…We measured also quantum correlations (2) (0) g of sideband phonon lasing for the first time. These results push forward phonon lasers into the nonlinear regime and make many exciting applications more accessible, such as optomechanical combs 35 , high-precision metrology, and non-classical state engineering. Our work opens up new perspectives for achieving levitated phonon devices with active LOM, and enables a wide range of applications such as quantum phononics, multi-frequency mechanical sensors, and high-precision acoustic frequency combs.…”

“…However, as far as we know, the ability of achieving nonlinear phonon lasers with multiple frequencies, has not been reported. This ability can provide the first step for many important applications such as mechanical frequency conversion, acoustic frequency combs 35 , multi-wave mixing or squeezing of phonons [36][37][38][39] and multi-frequency motional sensors.…”