Single-atom imaging of 173 ...

Abstract

We report on the trapping and imaging of individual ytterbium atoms in arrays of optical tweezers, loaded from a magneto-optical trap (MOT) formed by only five beams in an orthogonal configuration. In our five-beam MOT, operating on the narrow S P intercombination transition, gravity balances the radiation pressure of a single upward-directed beam. This approach enables efficient trapping and cooling of the most common ytterbium isotopes ( Yb, Yb and Yb) to K at densities atoms cm−3 within less than one second. This configuration allows for significantly reducing the complexity of the optical setup, potentially benefiting any ytterbium-atom based quantum science platform leveraging single-atom microscopy, from quantum processors to novel optical clocks. We then demonstrate the first single-atom-resolved imaging of the fermionic, large-spin isotope Yb ( ), employing a two-color imaging scheme that does not rely on magic-wavelength trapping. We achieve a high single-atom imaging fidelity of and a large survival probability of , despite large differential light shifts affecting all nuclear spin sublevels of the excited P state involved in the cooling transition. The demonstrated capabilities will play a key role in future quantum simulations and computing applications with Yb arrays.