All-optical formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate for applications in scanning electron microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the all-optical creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms within a single-beam optical trap, integrated with a scanning electron microscope for advanced imaging applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to produce a large BEC in a compact setup suitable for direct integration with electron microscopy.

Findings

Achieved a condensate with up to 100,000 atoms.

Produced the condensate 13mm below the SEM tip.

Maintained a duty cycle of less than 10 seconds.

Abstract

We report on the production of a F=1 spinor condensate of 87Rb atoms in a single beam optical dipole trap formed by a focused CO2 laser. The condensate is produced 13mm below the tip of a scanning electron microscope employing standard all-optical techniques. The condensate fraction contains up to 100,000 atoms and we achieve a duty cycle of less than 10s.