Pulsed loading of a magneto-optical trap on atom chip for fast pressure recovery in ultrahigh vacuum environment

Abstract

This study presents investigations on pulsed loading of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) on an atom chip in an UHV environment. Using three parallel resistively heated Rb-metal dispensers activated by pulsed current supply, approximately 3.0 $\times$ $10^7$ cold ${}^{87}Rb$ atoms were loaded into the MOT. A current pulse of $\sim$ 24 A with duration of $\sim$ 10 s raised the pressure in the chamber from 2.0 $\times$ $10^{-10}$ Torr to 3.3 $\times$ $10^{-10}$ Torr. Remarkably, the pressure recovery time after switching off the dispensers current was found to be $\sim$ 600 ms, making a significant advancement in achieving fast recovery of UHV environment surrounding the MOT region. This study is very useful for laser cooling and magnetic trapping / evaporative cooling of atoms on atom chip in the same UHV chamber.