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We present an ultra-low noise, high-voltage driver suited for use with piezoelectric actuators and other low-current applications. The architecture uses a flyback switching regulator to generate up to 250 V in our current design, with an output of 1 kV or more possible with small modifications. A high slew-rate op-amp suppresses the residual switching noise, yielding a total root-mean-square noise of ≈100 μV (1 Hz-100 kHz). A low-voltage (±10 V), high bandwidth signal can be summed with unity gain directly onto the output, making the driver well-suited for closed-loop feedback applications. Digital control enables both repeatable setpoints and sophisticated control logic, and the circuit consumes less than 150 mA at ±15 V.

We present a method for creating a quantum degenerate gas of metastable alkaline-earth atoms. This has yet to be achieved due to inelastic collisions that limit evaporative cooling in the metastable states. Quantum degenerate samples prepared in the 1 S 0 ground state can be rapidly transferred to either the 3 P 2 or 3 P 0 state via a coherent 3-photon process. Numerical integration of the density matrix evolution for the fine structure of bosonic alkaline-earth atoms shows that transfer efficiencies of 90% can be achieved with experimentally feasible laser parameters in both Sr and Yb. Importantly, the 3-photon process can be set up such that it imparts no net momentum to the degenerate gas during the excitation, which will allow for studies of metastable samples outside the Lamb-Dicke regime. We discuss several experimental challenges to successfully realizing our scheme, including the minimization of differential AC Stark shifts between the four states connected by the 3-photon transition.