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Experiments to Control Atom Number and Phase-Space Density in ...

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Noise (V 2 /Hz)<br />

10 −7<br />

10 −8<br />

10 −9<br />

10 −10<br />

10 −11<br />

10 −12<br />

10<br />

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500<br />

−13<br />

Frequency (Hz)<br />

Figure 8.13: CO2 laser <strong>in</strong>tensity noise spectrum. Background noise is shown <strong>in</strong> green,<br />

the laser noise is shown <strong>in</strong> blue.<br />

different mass <strong>and</strong> thus different oscillation frequencies.)<br />

Three additional RF sources are then analyzed: an HP signal genera<strong>to</strong>r (HP<br />

8657B), a Fluke signal genera<strong>to</strong>r (Fluke 6060B) <strong>and</strong> lastly a Wavetek genera<strong>to</strong>r (Wavetek<br />

2405). The RF output of these sources around 40 MHz is determ<strong>in</strong>ed by a a fast data<br />

acquisition card <strong>and</strong> subsequent data analysis us<strong>in</strong>g fast Fourier transform algorithms.<br />

The background noise level on these sources varies by orders of magnitude, the HP<br />

genera<strong>to</strong>r be<strong>in</strong>g the most quiet.<br />

However, measur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tensity noise <strong>in</strong> the laser beam reveals a noise peak<br />

around 1 kHz aga<strong>in</strong>. Clearly the source of the noise is thus not the RF source itself.<br />

The current hypothesis is that the reason for the noise peak is located with<strong>in</strong> the CO2<br />

AOM amplifier box itself. The amplifier box (IntraAction GE-4050H), does not only<br />

house a high-power amplifier, but also an RF oscilla<strong>to</strong>r which can be used for driv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the amplifier without need<strong>in</strong>g an external RF source. This source oscillates not exactly<br />

at 40 MHz, but rather about 1 kHz above. Even though this oscilla<strong>to</strong>r is disconnected<br />

from the amplifier itself, which is directly driven by the external RF source, a small<br />

amount of this signal is most likely be<strong>in</strong>g picked up by the amplifier, lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> the noise<br />

165

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