Ultrarobust calibration of an optical lattice depth based on a phase shift

TL;DR

This paper introduces a robust optical lattice depth calibration method using phase shift-induced oscillations, effective across various depths and resilient to interactions and external confinement variations.

Contribution

A novel calibration technique based on phase shift-triggered oscillations that simplifies and improves accuracy in optical lattice depth measurements.

Findings

Oscillations directly relate to intraband frequencies across a wide depth range.

Single dominant frequency observed in interference patterns for moderate displacements.

Method remains effective despite atom interactions and external confinement variations.

Abstract

We report on a new method to calibrate the depth of an optical lattice. It consists in triggering the intrasite dipole mode of the cloud by a sudden phase shift. The corresponding oscillatory motion is directly related to the intraband frequencies on a large range of lattice depths. Remarkably, for a moderate displacement, a single frequency dominates this oscillation for the zeroth and first order interference pattern observed after a sufficiently long time-of-flight. The method is robust against atom-atom interactions and the exact value of the extra external confinement of the initial trapping potential.