Fast production of ultracold sodium gases using light-induced desorption and optical trapping

In this article we report on the production of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of ²³Na using light-induced desorption as an atomic source. We load about 2×10⁷ atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) from this source with a $~6$ s loading time constant. The MOT lifetime can be kept around $27$ s by turning off the desorbing light after loading. We show that the pressure drops down by a factor of 40 in less than $100$ ms after the extinction of the desorbing light, restoring the low background pressure for evaporation. Using this technique, a BEC with 10⁴ atoms is produced after a $6$ s evaporation in an optical dipole trap.