Abstract
Laser-cooled ions in radiofrequency traps offer unique possibilities for experiments on isolated quantum systems and for frequency metrology since long interaction times with external radiation fields are possible in an environment with small perturbations. The ytterbium isotope 171Yb+ has a nuclear spin I=1/2 so that reference transitions without linear Zeeman frequency shift are available in a level system with relatively simple sublevel structure. The cycling F= 1-F=0 component of the alkali-like 2S1/2−2p1/2 resonance transition of 171Yb+ permits efficient optical detection and laser cooling if population of the 2D3/2(F=1) sublevel is avoided by additional excitation to a higher-lying level (see Fig. 1). The λ=435.5nm 2S1/2 - 2D3/2 electric-quadrupole transition of 171Yb+ has a natural linewidth of 3 Hz. Transitions to the 2D3/2(F=2) sublevel are easily detected by electron shelving, i.e., by the observation of dark times in the emitted resonance fluorescence1. We here report experiments where the 2S1/2(F=0) - 2D3/2(F=2,mF=0) transition of a single trapped 171Yb ion is resolved with an optical linewidth of less than 100 Hz.
© 1998 IEEE
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