Trapping and laser cooling of Ca/sup +/ ions toward future optical frequency standards: observation of clock transitions

Abstract

Experimental results of trapping and laser cooling of Ca/sup +/ ions for future optical frequency standards are reported. Ca/sup +/ ions were trapped and laser-cooled to below 1 K. To observe the electric-quadrupole-allowed transitions (clock transitions), the laser diode operated at low temperature was developed. With this laser, the clock transitions were observed using the shelved electron double resonance method.<>