Absorption spectroscopy of 40Ca atomic beams produced via pulsed laser ablation: a quantitative comparison of Ca and CaTiO3 targets

Pulsed laser ablation is an increasingly prevalent method for fast ion trap loading of various species, however characteristics of the ablation target source material can affect the ion-loading process. One factor which can reduce the atomic flux from a target is oxidation during atmospheric exposure when preparing or making changes to the ion trap vacuum system. Recent work has shown that perovskite ablation targets produce consistent atomic densities even after exposure to atmosphere when compared to elemental source targets. In this work, we directly compare calcium (Ca) and calcium-titanate (CaTiO\(_3\)) ablation targets, characterizing the neutral atomic beam flux using resonant, time-resolved absorption spectroscopy of the 423 nm ¹S₀ \(\rightarrow\) ¹P₁ transition in neutral Ca. We measure the ablation plume longitudinal and transverse temperatures, number density, ion production, and spot lifetime for each target. In addition, we compare the probe laser beam absorption for both targets before and after 21-h of exposure to atmosphere, demonstrating the relative robustness of the CaTiO\(_3\) source.