Dry launching of silica nanoparticles in vacuum
- Author(s)
- Ayub Khodaee, Kahan Dare, Aisling Johnson, Uroš Delić, Markus Aspelmeyer
- Abstract
Clean loading of silica nanoparticles with a radius as small as ∼50 nm is required for experiments in levitated optomechanics that operate in ultra-high vacuum. We present a cheap and simple experimental method for dry launching of silica nanoparticles by shaking from a polytetrafluoroethylene surface (PTFE). We report on the successful launching of single silica nanoparticles with a minimum radius of 43 nm, which is enabled by the low stiction to the launching surface. Nanoparticles with radii of 43 and 71.5 nm are launched with a high flux and small spread. The measured velocities are significantly smaller than 1 m/s. The demonstrated launching method allows for controlled loading of dry nanoparticles with radii as small as 43 nm into optical traps in (ultra-)high vacuum, although we anticipate that loading of smaller sizes is equally feasible.
- Organisation(s)
- Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information
- External organisation(s)
- Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW)
- Journal
- AIP Advances
- Volume
- 12
- No. of pages
- 5
- ISSN
- 2158-3226
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0124029
- Publication date
- 12-2022
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103026 Quantum optics
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/a8490e54-6ce4-4c32-b280-6585ea7dad8f