Laser-Controlled Cold Ytterbium Atom Source for Transportable Optical Clocks

We demonstrate the cold emission of ytterbium atomic vapors from ytterbium oxide irradiated with a simple ultraviolet diode laser. Slow atoms are trapped by a magneto-optical trap using a dipole-allowed transition at 399 nm. The number of trapped atoms is larger than those loaded from a conventional Zeeman slower. This method will open the way for the development of a compact apparatus suited for transportable optical clocks and other applications.