Raghuram Adarsh P, Mortlock Jonathan M, Bromley Sarah L, Cornish Simon L
Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
Rev Sci Instrum. 2023 Jun 1;94(6). doi: 10.1063/5.0139647.
We present a simple motorized rotation mount for a half-wave plate that can be used to rapidly change the polarization of light. We use the device to switch a high power laser beam between different optical dipole traps in an ultracold atom experiment. The device uses a stepper motor with a hollow shaft, which allows a beam to propagate along the axis of the motor shaft, minimizing inertia and mechanical complexity. A simple machined adapter is used to mount the wave plate. We characterize the performance of the device, focusing on its capability to switch a beam between the output ports of a polarizing beam splitter cube. We demonstrate a switching time of 15.9(3) ms, limited by the torque of the motor. The mount has a reaction time of 0.52(3) ms and a rotational resolution of 0.45(4)°. The rotation is highly reproducible, with the stepper motor not missing a step in 2000 repeated tests over 11 h.
我们展示了一种用于半波片的简单电动旋转支架，该支架可用于快速改变光的偏振。我们在超冷原子实验中使用该装置在不同的光学偶极阱之间切换高功率激光束。该装置使用带空心轴的步进电机，这使得光束能够沿电机轴的轴线传播，从而将惯性和机械复杂性降至最低。一个简单的加工适配器用于安装波片。我们对该装置的性能进行了表征，重点关注其在偏振分束立方棱镜的输出端口之间切换光束的能力。我们证明了切换时间为15.9(3)毫秒，受电机扭矩限制。该支架的反应时间为0.52(3)毫秒，旋转分辨率为0.45(4)°。旋转具有高度的可重复性，在11小时内进行的2000次重复测试中，步进电机没有丢失一步。
