Single ion spectroscopy of four metastable state clear-out transitions in Yb II: isotope shifts and hyperfine structure

Abstract

We present spectroscopic data for four metastable state clear-out transitions between 399 nm and 412 nm for all even long-lived isotopes of Yb${}^{+}$ as well as their hyperfine structure in ${}^{171}$Yb${}^{+}$. The strong ${}^2{\mathrm{D}}_{3/2}\to {}^1[1/2{]}_{1/2}$ transition at 412 nm represents an attractive alternative for the standard 935 nm repumper used in cooling and trapping experiments, while the transition to the ${}^3[3/2{]}_{3/2}$ state at 411 nm clears out the ${}^2$F${}_{7/2}$ state, for which typically 638 nm or 760 nm are used. These two alternative transitions simplify the experimental setup by removing the need for infrared optics to cool and manipulate Yb${}^{+}$ and may be of particular interest when considering integrated photonics solutions. We also present data for the transitions ${}^2$D${}_{3/2}\to {}^3[1/2{]}_{3/2}$ at 399 nm, and ${}^2$D${}_{3/2}\to {}^1[5/2{]}_{5/2}$ at 410 nm including decay branching ratios of the excited states.

7 pages, 7 figures