DOUGHNUT MODE MAGNETOOPTICAL TRAP

We have developed a magneto-optical trap that is well suited for high- resolution spectroscopy. It uses a combination of doughnut mode (Lague rre-Gaussian TEM(01)) and TEM(00) cooling beams rather than the usual TEM(00) cooling beams. This configuration allows us to tailor the inte nsity distribution within the magnetooptical trap such that the atoms are cooled from the background vapor by the intense TEM(01) beams and then trapped by the weak TEM(00) beams. This greatly reduces the magni tude of the ac-Stark shift and the line broadening induced by the cool ing lasers, allowing high-resolution spectroscopy to be performed in t he presence of the cooling beams. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.