Highly-efficient state-selective sub-microsecond photoionization detection of single atoms

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate a detection scheme suitable for state analysis of single optically trapped atoms in less than 1 μs with an overall detection efficiency η exceeding 98%. The method is based on hyperfine-state-selective photoionization and subsequent registration of the correlated photoion-electron pairs by coincidence counting via two opposing channel electron multipliers. The scheme enables the calibration of absolute detection efficiencies and might be a key ingredient for future quantum information applications or precision spectroscopy of ultracold atoms.

4 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Single-Atom Resolved Fluorescence Imaging of an Atomic Mott Insulator
• Strong interaction between light and a single trapped atom without a cavity
• Ion traps with enhanced optical and physical access
• Diffraction limited optics for single atom manipulation
• Nearest-Neighbor Detection of Atoms in a 1D Optical Lattice by Fluorescence Imaging
• Resonator-Aided Single-Atom Detection on a Microfabricated Chip
• Towards a loophole-free test of Bell's inequality with entangled pairs of neutral atoms