Weatherill K J, Pritchard J D, Griffin P F, Dammalapati U, Adams C S, Riis E
Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
Rev Sci Instrum. 2009 Feb;80(2):026105. doi: 10.1063/1.3075547.
We present a viewport for use in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) based upon the preflattened solder seal design presented in earlier work [Cox et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 3185 (2003)]. The design features significant modifications to improve long term performance. The windows have been leak tested to less than 10(-10) atm cm(3)/s. From atom number measurements in an optical dipole trap loaded from a vapor cell magneto-optical trap inside a vacuum chamber accommodating these viewports, we measure a trap lifetime of 9.5 s suggesting a pressure of around 10(-10) Torr limited by background rubidium vapor pressure. We also present a simplified design where the UHV seal is made directly to a vacuum pipe.
