87Rb atoms cooled and trapped in a magneto-optical trap using low-power diode lasers

Abstract

In this paper we present an experimental setup for cooling and trapping of rubidium-87 atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) The motivation for this study is to initiate research activities on laser cooling and trapping of atoms at the University of San Carlos, as well as to set up a cooling and trapping experiment for undergraduate physics laboratories. The setup used is similar to the one used by Cornell and co-workers in 1995 to create a Bose condensate. For various applications of laser cooling and trapping we refer to AIP Conference Proceedings on Atomic Physics of 1992, which is specially devoted to laser cooling and trapping.
Compared to other cooling and trapping setups for rubidium, the experiment design used here is simple, uses less optics and components, and needs only low-power diode lasers with adequate frequency stability requirements. With this setup, the trapped Rb atoms can be seen and observed with a standard CCD camera.