A Scanning Electron Microscope for Ultracold Atoms

We propose a new technique for the detection of single atoms in ultracold quantum gases. The technique is based on scanning electron microscopy and employs the electron impact ionization of trapped atoms with a focussed electron probe. Subsequent detection of the resulting ions allows for the reconstruction of the atoms position. This technique is expected to achieve a much better spatial resolution compared to any optical detection method. In combination with the sensitivity to single atoms, it makes new in situ measurements of atomic correlations possible. The detection principle is also well suited for the addressing of individual sites in optical lattices.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Plasma Treatment of Bulk Nb Surface in the Ar/Cl2 Discharge

The preparation of the cavity walls has been one of the major challenges in the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerator technology. Therefore, constant research and development effort is devoted to develop surface preparation processes that will improve roughness and lower the level of impurities, like hydrogen or oxygen, embedded in bulk Nb, having in the same time reasonable etching rates. Plasma based surface modification provides an excellent opportunity to achieve these goals. We present Ar/Cl2 discharge treatment of bulk Nb where we achieved etching rates comparable to the rates obtained with the electropolishing method without introducing impurities in Nb. The current experiments were performed on disk shaped Nb samples, exposed to plasma produced in a microwave discharge system. Surface composition and topology measurements were carried out before and after plasma treatment. Upon determining optimal experimental condition on disk shaped samples, we will apply the same procedure on the single cell cavities, pursuing improvement of their RF performance

Reactive Oxygen Emission From Microwave Discharge Plasmas

Metastable oxygen atoms and molecules have received increased interest because of their function in surface modification, bio-decontamination and many other industrial applications, in addition to the role in the upper atmospheric layer chemistry. We review work on production and detection of metastable oxygen and we describe our experiments, including the development of techniques for measurement of metastable molecular oxygen. We show that either metastable oxygen molecules or metastable oxygen atoms can be produced in large quantities in electrical discharges, carefully tailored to promote the required kinetics. Although the two species may coexist, colder discharge regimes favor production of molecules, while at higher temperature conditions atomic oxygen prevails. We found that microwave cavity discharges in He/O2 mixtures favor molecular production, but that an arc-seeded microwave torch in air shows preference of atomic production. Result on the specific yield of molecular oxygen in the microwave cavity discharge shows qualitative agreement with the models

Magnetohydrodynamic Power Generation in the Laboratory Simulated Martian Entry Plasma

This paper addresses the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) conversion of the energy released during the planetary entry phase of an interplanetary vehicle trajectory. The effect of MHD conversion is multi-fold. It reduces and redirects heat transferred to the vehicle, and regenerates the dissipated energy in reusable and transportable form. A vehicle on an interplanetary mission carries about 10,000 kWh of kinetic energy per ton of its mass. This energy is dissipated into heat during the planetary atmospheric entry phase. For instance, the kinetic energy of Mars Pathfinder was about 4220 kWh. Based on the loss in velocity, Mars Pathfinder lost about 92.5% of that energy during the plasma-sustaining entry phase that is approximately 3900 kWh. An ideal MHD generator, distributed over the probe surface of Mars Pathfinder could convert more than 2000 kWh of this energy loss into electrical energy, which correspond to more than 50% of the kinetic energy loss. That means that the heat transferred to the probe surface can be reduced by at least 50% if the converted energy is adequately stored, or re-radiated, or directly used. Therefore, MHD conversion could act not only as the power generating, but also as the cooling process. In this paper we describe results of preliminary experiments with light and microwave emitters powered by model magnetohydrodynamic generators and discuss method for direct use of converted energy

Secondary Electron Yield of Electron Beam Welded Areas of SRF Cavities

Secondary Electron Emission (SEE) is a phenomenon that contributes to the total electron activity inside the Superconducting Radiofrequency (SRF) cavities during the accelerator operation. SEE is highly dependent on the state of the surface. During electron beam welding process, significant amount of heat is introduced into the material causing the microstructure change of Niobium (Nb). Currently, all simulation codes for field emission and multipacting are treating the inside of the cavity as a uniform, homogeneous surface. Due to its complex shape and fabricating procedure, and the sensitivity of the SEE on the surface state, it would be interesting to see if the Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) parameters vary in the surface area on and near the equator weld. For that purpose, we have developed experimental setup that can measure accurately the energy distribution of the SEY of coupon-like like samples. To test the influence of the weld area on the SEY of Nb, dedicated samples are made from a welded plate using electron beam welding parameters common for cavity fabrication. SEY data matrix of those samples will be presented

Plasma Treatment of Bulk Niobium Surface for Superconducting RF Cavities: Optimization of the Experimental Conditions on Flat Samples

Accelerator performance, in particular the average accelerating field and the cavity quality factor, depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavity surface. Plasma based surface modification provides an excellent opportunity to eliminate nonsuperconductive pollutants in the penetration depth region and to remove the mechanically damaged surface layer, which improves the surface roughness. Here we show that the plasma treatment of bulk niobium (Nb) presents an alternative surface preparation method to the commonly used buffered chemical polishing and electropolishing methods. We have optimized the experimental conditions in the microwave glow discharge system and their influence on the Nb removal rate on flat samples. We have achieved an etching rate of 1.7 μm/min using only 3% chlorine in the reactive mixture. Combining a fast etching step with a moderate one, we have improved the surface roughness without exposing the sample surface to the environment. We intend to apply the optimized experimental conditions to the preparation of single cell cavities, pursuing the improvement of their rf performance

Characterization of a Plasmoid in the Afterglow of a Supersonic Flowing Microwave Discharge

We performed a detailed characterization a plasmoid in the afterglow region of an Ar supersonic microwave cavity discharge. The supersonic flow was generated using a convergent-divergent nozzle upstream of the discharge region. A cylindrical cavity was used to sustain a discharge in the pressure range of 100-600 Pa. Optical emission spectroscopy was used to observe populations of excited and ionic species in the plasmoid region. Plasmoid formation in the supersonic flowing afterglow located downstream from the primary microwave cavity discharge was characterized by measuring the radial and axial distributions of Argon excited states and Argon ions. More experiments are being carried out on the plasmoid to understand the discharge parameters within the region, i.e. rotational temperature, vibrational temperature, electron density, and how the electrodynamic and aerodynamic effects combine to form this plasmoid

Effects of Plasma Processing on Secondary Electron Yield of Niobium Samples

Impurities deposited on the surface of Nb during both the forming and welding of accelerator cavities add to the imperfections of the sheet metal, which then affects the overall performance of the cavities. This leads to a drop in the Q factor and limits the maximum acceleration gradient achievable per unit length of the cavities. The performance can be improved either by adjusting the fabrication and preparation parameters, or by mitigating the effects of fabrication and preparation techniques used. We have developed the experimental setup to determine Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) from the surface of Nb samples. Our aim is to show the effect of plasma processing on the SEY of Nb. The setup measures the secondary electron energy distribution at various incident angles as measured between the electron beam and the surface of the sample. The goal is to determine the SEY on non-treated and plasma treated surface of electron beam welded samples. Here we describe the experimental setup, plasma treatment device, and fabrication and processing of the Nb samples

Measurements of Population Densities of Metastable and Resonant Levels of Argon Using Laser Induced Fluorescence

We present a new approach to measure population densities of Ar I metastable and resonant excited states in low temperature Ar plasmas at pressures higher than 1 Torr. This approach combines the time resolved laser induced fluorescence technique with the kinetic model of Ar. The kinetic model of Ar is based on calculating the population rates of metastable and resonant levels by including contributions from the processes that affect population densities of Ar I excited states. In particular, we included collisional quenching processes between atoms in the ground state and excited states, since we are investigating plasma at higher pressures. We also determined time resolved population densities of Ar I 2 p excited states by employing optical emission spectroscopy technique. Time resolved Ar I excited state populations are presented for the case of the post-discharge of the supersonic flowing microwave discharge at pressures of 1.7 and 2.3 Torr. The experimental set-up consists of a pulsed tunable dye laser operating in the near infrared region and a cylindrical resonance cavity operating in TE111 mode at 2.45 GHz. Results show that time resolved population densities of Ar I metastable and resonant states oscillate with twice the frequency of the discharge

Experiment and Results on Plasma Etching of SRF Cavities

The inner surfaces of SRF cavities are currently chemically treated (etched or electro polished) to achieve the state of the art RF performance. We designed an apparatus and developed a method for plasma etching of the inner surface for SRF cavities. The process parameters (pressure, power, gas concentration, diameter and shape of the inner electrode, temperature and positive dc bias at inner electrode) are optimized for cylindrical geometry. The etch rate non-uniformity has been overcome by simultaneous translation of the gas point-of-entry and the inner electrode during the processing. A single cell SRF cavity has been centrifugally barrel polished, chemically etched and RF tested to establish a baseline performance. This cavity is plasma etched and RF tested afterwards. The effect of plasma etching on the RF performance of this cavity will be presented and discussed