Optical levitation in high vacuum using a 0.9-numerical-aperture lens

Abstract

Nanoparticles levitated in high vacuum are isolated from the surrounding environment and thus can be used in various applications, including quantum physics research. We demonstrated optical levitation of a nanoparticle, which was trapped without cooling at a pressure of 4.5 × 10−3 Pa, using a single aspheric lens with a large numerical aperture (= 0.9) and 1030-nm laser. We also activated parametric feedback cooling to trap the particle at a pressure of 5.8 × 10−4 Pa. This experimental system will be useful for studying nanoparticles in ultrahigh vacuum and for building a mixed system with laser-cooled atoms.