Pulsed loading of a magneto-optical trap on atom chip for fast pressure recovery in ultrahigh vacuum environment

This study presents investigations on pulsed loading of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) on an atom chip in an UHV environment. Using three parallel resistively heated Rb-metal dispensers activated by pulsed current supply, approximately 3.0 × 10⁷ cold ⁸⁷Rb atoms were loaded into the MOT. A current pulse of ~ 24 A with duration of ~ 10 s raised the pressure in the chamber from 2.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ Torr to 3.3 × 10⁻¹⁰ Torr. Remarkably, the pressure recovery time after switching off the dispensers current was found to be ~ 600 ms, making a significant advancement in achieving fast recovery of UHV environment surrounding the MOT region. This study is very useful for laser cooling and magnetic trapping / evaporative cooling of atoms on atom chip in the same UHV chamber.