Preparations for imaging of single Barium cations in solid Xenon

Collection and detection of laser induced fluorescence from a single atom trapped in a matrix site of solidified noble gas is a potentially useful technique for the development of quantum sensors. Previous work by our group has shown that the fluorescence from a single Barium atom trapped in a solid Xenon matrix can be resolved despite the naturally low signal and background fluorescence generated near the trapped Barium neutral atom. The work presented discusses results found in preparation for a single Ba⁺ cation imaging experiment. Such fluorescence collection requires that the signal to noise ratio be optimized. Signal optimization includes choice of excitation wavelength for each possible emission wavelength available to image from. Further, the temperature that the solid Xenon matrix was held at was chosen for maximum quantum efficiency. A new method for background reduction is presented, which utilizes particularly thick Xe deposits in order to physically separate the Barium fluorescence from other sources of background. Finally, the current status of single Barium cation imaging is presented.