A simple, configurable, permanent magnet Zeeman Slower for Sr

Abstract

We report the successful demonstration and characterisation of a Zeeman slower based on an array of permanent magnets, implemented for atomic Sr on the ¹S0 → ¹P1 transition at 461 nm. Measurements of longitudinal velocity distributions and MOT loading characteristics are presented. In particular, we highlight a simple transverse-field slower, which is both compact and highly tunable, light weight (≤ 2 kg), and with no power load, as a favourable option for space-borne operation. For optimum parameters of this slower we achieve a slow flux of ∼ 3.5 × 10⁹ atom/s at ∼ 30 m/s for ⁸⁸Sr and load ∼ 2.5 × 10⁷ atoms into a magneto-optical-trap (MOT) operating on the same ¹S0 → ¹P1 transition, which scales approximately with the relative isotopic natural abundances of Sr. With the addition of repumpers at 707 nm and 679 nm, we achieve a factor of ∼ 17 enhancement to MOT number with loading time ∼ 0.5 s.