Yb⁺ ions in an ion trap (IMAGE)
Caption
Two Yb⁺ ions are held in an ion trap. One of the ions gets pumped into metastable states using a focussed laser beam. The other ion is continuously fluorescing and is used to indicate the presence of the “dark” ion in the metastable state by its off-centred position in the ion trap. The lifetime of the metastable state is measured by recording the time when the dark ion starts fluorescing again.
Credit
UVA IoP
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Free
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