A Single Laser System for Ground-State Cooling of 25-Mg+

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simplified single laser system for ground-state cooling, manipulation, and detection of $^{25}$Mg$^+$ ions, streamlining quantum control techniques with fewer laser sources.

Contribution

A novel single solid-state laser setup that combines cooling, manipulation, and detection of $^{25}$Mg$^+$ ions, reducing complexity compared to multi-laser systems.

Findings

Successful ground-state cooling of ion vibrational modes.

Efficient coherent manipulation using Raman transitions.

Simplified laser system compared to existing setups.

Abstract

We present a single solid-state laser system to cool, coherently manipulate and detect $^{25}$Mg$^+$ ions. Coherent manipulation is accomplished by coupling two hyperfine ground state levels using a pair of far-detuned Raman laser beams. Resonant light for Doppler cooling and detection is derived from the same laser source by means of an electro-optic modulator, generating a sideband which is resonant with the atomic transition. We demonstrate ground-state cooling of one of the vibrational modes of the ion in the trap using resolved-sideband cooling. The cooling performance is studied and discussed by observing the temporal evolution of Raman-stimulated sideband transitions. The setup is a major simplification over existing state-of-the-art systems, typically involving up to three separate laser sources.