Single-atom absorption imaging

E. W. Streed; A. Jechow; B. G. Norton; D. Kielpinski

doi:10.1117/12.926837

23 February 2012 Single-atom absorption imaging

E. W. Streed, A. Jechow, B. G. Norton, D. Kielpinski

Proceedings Volume 8272, Advances in Photonics of Quantum Computing, Memory, and Communication V; 827216 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926837
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Absorption of light is a fundamental process in imaging. The optical properties of atoms are thoroughly understood, so a single atom is an ideal system for testing the quantum limits of absorption imaging. Here we report the first absorption imaging of a single isolated atom, the smallest and simplest system reported to date. Contrasts of up to 3.1(3)% were observed in images of a laser cooled ¹⁷⁴Yb⁺ ion confined in vacuum by a radio-frequency Paul trap. This work establishes a new sensitivity bound for absorption imaging with a 7800x improvement over the contrast previously observed in imaging a single molecule.

Citation Download Citation

E. W. Streed, A. Jechow, B. G. Norton, and D. Kielpinski "Single-atom absorption imaging", Proc. SPIE 8272, Advances in Photonics of Quantum Computing, Memory, and Communication V, 827216 (23 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926837

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