Extending Vacuum Trapping to Absorbing Objects with Hybrid Paul-Optical Traps

Abstract

The levitation of condensed matter in vacuum allows the study of its physical properties under extreme isolation from the environment. It also offers a venue to investigate quantum mechanics with large systems, at the transition between the quantum and classical worlds. In this work, we study a novel hybrid levitation platform that combines a Paul trap with a weak but highly focused laser beam, a configuration that integrates a deep potential with excellent confinement and motion detection. We combine simulations and experiments to demonstrate the potential of this approach to extend vacuum trapping and interrogation to a broader range of nanomaterials, such as absorbing particles. We study the stability and dynamics of different specimens, such as fluorescent dielectric crystals and gold nanorods, and demonstrate stable trapping down to pressures of 1 mbar.

Levitodynamics: Levitation and control of microscopic objects in vacuum

“…Control of conservative particle motion is achieved via engineering of the trapping potential. On the one hand, complex static potentials can be synthesized using optical trapping beams with desired intensity profiles [61][62][63][64] or by following a hybrid approach (i.e., combining optical and electric fields that act on charged dielectric particles) [53,65,66]. On the other hand, potentials can also be dynamically modified, either externally [24,33,67,68] -including fast control of a complex optical potential [69] -or by the backaction induced by the particle itself on the trapping field [70,71].…”

Spin-controlled quantum interference of levitated nano rotors

“…Trapping, controlling, and cooling of the center-of-mass and libration of diamond particles in a Paul trap has been realized in several experiments (see [5,6] and references therein). Selective loading of a particle containing a single NV center in optical and hybrid traps has been reported [17,[62][63][64]. Finally, precise spin initialisation and microwave control of NV centers at cryogenic temperature has been demonstrated [65][66][67].…”

Hybrid electro-optical trap for experiments with levitated particles in vacuum

“…For example, the optical field of a highfinesse cavity has been used to trap a particle and cool its motion while the deep and wide potential of a Paul trap acted as a safety net if the particle was lost from the optical trap 6 . A "dimple" trap has also been created that combined tight particle confinement with reduced bulk heating by bringing together optical tweezers and a Paul trap 7 . For atomic ions, hybrid electro-optical traps, first demonstrated more than a decade ago, have opened up prospects for ultracold chemistry studies and for quantum simulations using tailored potentials 8 .…”