Centralised Design and Production of the Ultra-High Vacuum and Laser-Stabilisation Systems for the AION Ultra-Cold Strontium Laboratories

TL;DR

This paper describes the centralized design and production of ultra-high vacuum and laser stabilization systems for AION's ultra-cold strontium labs, enabling rapid, parallel construction of multiple facilities and offering a model for future cold atom experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a streamlined, centralized approach to designing and producing critical systems for ultra-cold atom laboratories, facilitating rapid deployment and scalability.

Findings

Achieved parallel construction of five labs within 24 months.

Demonstrated stable laser and vacuum system performance.

Provided a scalable model for future cold atom experiment development.

Abstract

This paper outlines the centralised design and production of the Ultra-High-Vacuum sidearm and Laser-Stabilisation systems for the AION Ultra-Cold Strontium Laboratories. Commissioning data on the residual gas and steady-state pressures in the sidearm chambers, on magnetic field quality, on laser stabilisation, and on the loading rate for the 3D Magneto-Optical Trap are presented. Streamlining the design and production of the sidearm and laser stabilisation systems enabled the AION Collaboration to build and equip in parallel five state-of-the-art Ultra-Cold Strontium Laboratories within 24 months by leveraging key expertise in the collaboration. This approach could serve as a model for the development and construction of other cold atom experiments, such as atomic clock experiments and neutral atom quantum computing systems, by establishing dedicated design and production units at national laboratories.