Atom–ion collision experiment
Study the collision dynamics between cold atoms and a single ion with Quatm’s coordinated multi-system control.
Overview
This experiment provides the class secondinteraction: it integrates the lithium-atom MOT with ion
loading, state preparation and shuttling into one atom–ion collision/interaction experiment. Each stage
is encapsulated in its own method, which makes it easy to reuse and extend.
Stage methods
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
load_ions | Ablation loading + laser cooling of the ions |
count_ions | Fluorescence counting to determine whether an ion is in the trap |
Ion_to_D_state / Ion_to_S_state | State preparation |
load_MOT / MOT_off | Loads / switches off the lithium MOT |
ion_state_preparation | Ion state preparation before the interaction |
run | Orchestrates the loading–state preparation–collision–detection sequence |
Parameters (build excerpt)
Loading_Time, Nr_Ablation_Pulses, Det_Time, Nr_Pictures,
loadingtime_MOT, detection_time, RF_Voltage_Final and others.
Key code (excerpt)
from quatm.experiment import Experiment, delay, realtime
class secondinteraction(Experiment):
def run(self):
self.load_ions() # ablation loading + laser cooling
self.Ion_to_S_state() # prepare in S1/2
self.load_MOT() # load the lithium MOT
# interaction … then imaging/counting
Related scripts
interaction_probe.py: a preliminary camera trigger / simple sequence;motloading.py: MOT loading parameter scans;- for the interaction inside the optical dipole trap see Atom–ion interaction in an optical dipole trap.