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Calibrating high intensity absorption imaging of ultracold atoms

2017; Optica Publishing Group; Volume: 25; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1364/oe.25.008670

1094-4087

Klaus Hueck, Niclas Luick, Lennart Sobirey, Jonas Siegl, Thomas Lompe, Henning Moritz, Logan W. Clark, Cheng Chin,

Advanced Frequency and Time Standards

Absorption imaging of ultracold atoms is the foundation for quantitative extraction of information from experiments with ultracold atoms. Due to the limited exposure time available in these systems, the signal-to-noise ratio is largest for high intensity absorption imaging where the intensity of the imaging light is on the order of the saturation intensity. In this case, the absolute value of the intensity of the imaging light enters as an additional parameter making it more sensitive to systematic errors. Here, we present a novel and robust technique to determine the imaging intensity in units of the effective saturation intensity to better than 5%. We do this by measuring the momentum transferred to the atoms by the imaging light while varying its intensity. We further utilize the method to quantify the purity of the polarization of the imaging light and to determine the correct imaging detuning.