Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-119). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (MSc)-- Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A Magneto Optical Trap (MOT) is a configuration formed by three orthogonal pairs of counterpropagating circularly polarized laser beams and a magnetic field gradient. A MOT is used to cool, capture and trap large numbers of atoms in vacuum at very low temperature in K range. In this thesis the development of an experimental setup for realising a MOT of 87Rb atoms is presented. The atomic structure of Rb and the theoretical background of laser cooling and magneto optical trapping was reviewed. The influence of rubidium background pressure in the vacuum system, the laser beam size and the power and frequency on the number of the trapped atoms were studied in literature. The trapping and repumping lasers were characterised experimentally. Six circularly polarised trapping beams with equal power were formed and properly aligned to intersect at the center of the trapping cell. Two optical setups were designed and exploited to investigate and optimise the trapping beam polarisation. The repumping laser beam was successfully aligned and colinearly combined into all the trapping beams. Three different experimental setups for saturated absorption spectroscopy were developed. Saturated absorption spectra showing the hyperfine structure of both 85Rb and 87Rb isotopes were measured and are discussed. Using two saturated absorption spectroscopy setups, the frequencies of both lasers were successfully locked to the trapping and repumping transitions of 87Rb respectively. A rectangular trapping cell was designed and attached to the vacuum system. A pressure of about 10­¯7 mbar was achieved. The magnetic field coils were characterised and affixed on both sides of the cell in an anti-Helmholtz configuration. Setups for imaging and quantification of the 87Rb atoms in the MOT were designed. Finally, the procedures for demonstrating a MOT are presented. In conclusion, the current status of the project is reported, with recommendations for the future work. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Magneto optiese val (Magneto Optical Trap, MOT) is ’n konfigurasie wat gevorm word deur drie ortogonale laserbundelpare, wat elk uit twee sirkelvormig gepolariseerde bundels met teenoorgestelde voortplantingsrigtings bestaan, en ’n magneetveld gradient. ’n MOT word gebruik om ’n groot aantal atome af te koel, te vang en vas te hou in vakuum by ’n baie lae temperatuur in die K bereik. In hierdie tesis word die ontwikkeling van ’n eksperimentele optelling vir die realisering van ’n MOT van 87Rb atome voorgelê. Die atoomstruktuur van Rb en die teoretiese agtergrond van laser afkoeling en ’n magneto optiese val is hersien. Die invloed van die rubidium agtergronddruk in die vakuumstelsel, die grootte van die laserbundels en die laser drywing en frekwensie op die aantal gevangde atome is bestudeer uit die literatuur. Die MOT-laser en die optiese pomplaser is eksperimenteel gekarakteriseer. Ses sirkelvormig gepolariseerde MOT-laserbundels met gelyke drywings is gevorm en behoorlik belyn om in die middel van die MOT-sel te kruis. Twee optiese opstellings is ontwerp en gebruik om die polarisasie van die MOT-laserbundels te ondersoek en te optimeer. Die optiese pomplaserbundel is suksesvol belyn en ko-liniêr ekombineer met al die MOT-laserbundels. Drie verskillende eksperimentele opstellings vir versadigde absorpsie spektroskopie is ontwikkel. Versadigde absorpsie spektra wat die hiperfyn struktuur van beide die 85Rb en 87Rb isotope toon is gemeet en bespreek. Deur twee versadigde absorpsie spektroskopie opstellings te gebruik is die frekwensies van beide lasers suksesvol gestabiliseer op die MOT- en optiese pomp-oorgange van 87Rb onderskeidelik. ’n Reghoekige MOT-sel is ontwerp en aangesluit by die vakuumstelsel. ’n Druk van ongeveer 10­¯7 mbar is bereik. Die magneetveld spoele is gekarakteriseer en weerskante van die sel gemonteer in ’n anti-Helmholtz konfigurasie. Ten einde word die prosedures vir die demonstrasie van ’n MOT voorgelê. In die gevolgtrekking word daar verslag gedoen oor die status van die projek, met aanbevelings vir toekomstige werk.

Thin films (5nm ± 2nm thick) of ZrO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Sm, Gd, Zr, Ni, and Pt were deposited onto TbFeCo films (100nm ± 20nm thick) on silicon and graphite substrates and analyzed with XPS as prospective candidates for TbFeCo diffusion barriers. Metals were chosen primarily according to electronegativity. Samples were typically heated to 272°C in UHV for 20 hours to enhance diffusion. Experiments with the metals were performed in a more consistent manner than with the oxides. The Sm, Gd, and Zr were reactively oxidized during the deposition. The Sm/Sm-oxide and Gd/Gd-oxide appeared to be favorable candidates for TbFeCo diffusion barriers. TbFeCo was not detected near the surface before or after heating the samples to 272°C for 20 hours and depth profiles indicated oxygen contamination decreased steadily as the barrier/TbFeCo interface was approached. For the other materials examined, either the oxides were reduced (at least partially) during heating to 272°C (381°C for Al₂O₃) or diffusion of TbFeCo was detected after heating, indicating that they would not be favorable candidates for TbFeCo diffusion barriers.

D. Tech. Chemistry. / Demonstrates the possibility of preparing large surface coatings of monodispersed spherical particles of chromium(III) oxide by using the ACG method for solar heating and magneto-optic technologies. t is aimed in the current study to investigate the photo-induced ESR phenomena in a-Cr2O3 mono-dispersed spherical particles using elimination of 160mW Nd:YAG laser of ˜1064 nm and a pulse repetition frequency of 30Hz, in the temperature range of 150 up to 315 K.

This thesis is concerned with the guiding of cold atoms using optical forces, which is of great importance in the field of atom optics. Atomic beams can be used for precision sensor equipment, building nano-scale structures, construction of quantum computers and to further the understanding of the properties of atoms. Atoms are guided along light beams using the dipole force; there are two regimes under which this force works. Typically red-detuned guides are used (atoms are attracted towards the light) such guides, however, require large detuning and high powers. In this thesis we investigate the use of blue-detuned (atoms are repelled from the light) hollow light beams of moderate power (a few hundred mW) and confine atoms in the dark centre of the beams. Several magneto-optical traps (MOTs) have been constructed to exploit different guiding geometries. Hollow beams have been generated using a variety of methods; in particular the use of a computer controlled spatial light modulator (SLM) has provided great versatility and simplicity to the experimental arrangements. First, experiments were performed with a low-velocity intense source (LVIS) of atoms. A co-linear LG beam significantly enhances the observed flux, however, considerable difficulties are encountered loading atoms into oblique guides. Imaging a hole in the walls of the light tube was used to improve the loading efficiency. Second, guiding a free-falling atom cloud is performed using a non-diffracting Bessel beam. It is found that while the potential of the Bessel beam is steeper than equivalent LG beams the power distribution across the beam severely limits its usefulness. The next study investigated higher-order LG guide beams generated with an SLM. High order modes have a narrower profile so confine the atoms with less interaction with the guide beam, leading to a more natural guide (as opposed to a pushing force). Finally the SLM was used to create non-trivial beam shapes for beam splitters and interferometers.

By means of numerical simulations, the thesis aims at improvements in the understanding of light propagation in dielectric optical waveguides, with emphasis on nonreciprocal integrated magnetooptic devices. The results include: Proposal, implementation, and assessment of the WMM mode solver (Wave Matching Method) For waveguides with piecewise constant, rectangular permittivity profiles, the calculation of guided modes can be based on a local expansion into factorizing harmonic or exponential trial functions. A least squares expression for the mismatch in the continuity conditions at dielectric boundaries connects the fields on neighbouring regions. Minimization of this error allows to compute propagation constants and mode fields. The procedure has been implemented both for semivectorial and fully vectorial mode analysis. The piecewise defined trial fields are well suited to deal with field discontinuities or discontinuous derivatives. Numerical assessment shows excellent agreement with accepted previous results from other methods. The WMM turns out to be effective especially for structures described by only a few rectangles. It yields semianalytical mode field representations which are not restricted to a computational window. The fields are therefore perfectly suited for further processing, e.g. in the framework of various kinds of perturbation theory. Perturbational geometry tolerancing procedure Shifting the location of a dielectric boundary in the cross section of a waveguide with piecewise constant refractive index profile results in a permittivity perturbation in a layer along the discontinuity line. On the basis of these thin layer perturbations, perturbational expressions for the derivatives of the propagation constants with respect to geometry parameters are discussed. The approach provides direct access to wavelength dependences. Comparison with rigorously calculated data shows that the accuracy is sufficient to yield reasonable tolerance estimates for realistic integrated optical devices, at almost no extra computational cost. This perturbational approach allows to establish and to quantify guidelines for geometry tolerant devices. Numerical assessment of nonreciprocal wave propagation The coefficients of coupled mode theory for the magnetooptic permittivity contribution allow a classification of the influences of gyrotropy on guided wave propagation. For mirror symmetric waveguides, one identifies the dominant effects of TE phase shift, TM phase shift, and TE/TM polarization conversion, for polar, equatorial, and longitudinal magnetooptic configurations, respectively. Layered equatorial magnetooptic profiles lead to the well known phase shifters for TM modes. Analogously, sliced asymmetric polar magnetooptic profiles yield phase shifts for TE polarized modes. Simulations of rib waveguides with a magnetooptic domain lattice predict effects of the same order of magnitude as the phase shift for TM modes. Phase matching as a condition for complete polarization conversion in longitudinally magnetized waveguides can be realized with selected geometries of raised strip waveguides or embedded square waveguides. Based on coupled mode theory for hybrid fundamental modes, the analysis of the performance of such devices in an isolator setting includes birefringence, optical absorption, and an explicit perturbational evaluation of fabrication tolerances. A magnetooptic waveguide which is magnetized at a tilted angle may perform as a unidirectional polarization converter. The term specifies a device that converts TE to TM light for one direction of propagation, while it maintains the polarization for the opposite direction. A double layer setup with two magnetooptic films of opposite Faraday rotation is proposed and simulated. Designs of three waveguide couplers for applications as isolators/circulators and polarization splitters Three-guide couplers with multimode central waveguides allow for a remote coupling between the outer waveguides. While the power transfer is a truly multimode interference process, one can identify two different regimes where either two or three supermodes dominate the coupling behaviour. Numerical simulations show reasonable agreement between the main coupling features in planar an three dimensional devices. The specific form of the relevant modes suggests the design of integrated optical isolators and circulators. Both planar and three dimensional concepts are investigated. A radiatively coupled waveguide polarization splitter should be designed such that the entire dynamic range of the coupling length variations is exploited. This is easily possible with a three dimensional raised strip configuration. Combination of two magnetooptic unidirectional polarization converters and two radiatively coupled waveguide based polarization splitters leads to a concept for a polarization independent integrated four port circulator device. The simulation predicts a total length of about three millimeters.