This site uses cookies for analytics and to improve your experience. By clicking Accept, you consent to our use of cookies. Learn more in our privacy policy.

Opens in a new tab

Zeeman Slower + Collimator

One UHV component that slows and collimates your rubidium beam, built for quantum computers based on cold atoms.

The ZSC integrates a permanent-magnet Zeeman slower and a beam collimator in a single compact tube. Rings of NdFeB magnets in Halbach configuration create a transverse field that falls from +105 G to −25 G, keeping 87Rb atoms resonant with a counter-propagating 780 nm laser as they slow from 185 m/s to about 40 m/s. The narrow bore defines a tight, well-directed beam into the MOT.

Request a Quote
Zeeman Slower + Collimator: a stainless-steel ultra-high-vacuum tube with CF flanges at both ends, standing upright on its exit flange.

Key advantages

Two functions, one component

Slowing and collimation in one tube frees table space and removes an alignment stage.

Zero power, zero heat

Permanent magnets: no coil current, no drivers, no water cooling, no thermal drift.

UHV ready

All-metal stainless construction with CF knife-edge flanges, bakeable for ultra-high vacuum.

Drop-in integration

Standard CF16 and CF35 flanges mate directly to existing oven and chamber ports.

How it works

Magnetic field along the Zeeman Slower + Collimator: the simulated Halbach array field tracks the ideal profile from +105 G down to -25 G over the 300 mm slower, alongside a cross-section of the transverse Halbach magnet ring.

Simulated Halbach array field against the ideal Zeeman profile, calculated for 87Rb. Shaded region: the 300 mm slower.

Technical specifications

Atomic species87Rb, D2 line 780.24 nm
Magnetic fieldTransverse, +105 → −25 G
Capture / exit velocity≈ 185 / ≈ 40 m/s
Slowing laserF=2→F′=3, −90 MHz, lin. ⊥ B
Magnet array56 NdFeB cuboids, 7 rings
Power / coolingNone required
Slower / overall length300 / 320 mm
Tube bore (ID / OD)According to customer request
Entrance / exit flangeCF16 / CF35
Material316L stainless steel
Vacuum / bakeoutUHV, ≤ 5×10−11 mbar / 350 °C
Decelerationη = 0.5 · amax = 5.6×104 m/s2

Applications

  • Quantum computers and simulators based on cold atoms
  • MOT and tweezer loading
  • Optical atomic clocks
  • Cold-atom labs

Options

  • Longer slower for higher capture velocity
  • 85Rb or other species
  • 3D-printed magnet holder
  • UHV cleaning certificate

Request a quote or technical consultation

Tell us your species, capture velocity and flange geometry, and we will come back with a configuration.

Request a Quote