We demonstrate a scheme to use a Littman configuration external cavity diode laser （ECDL） as a stablefrequency light source to stabilize two cw single-mode Ti：sapphire lasers for laser cooling of magnesium fluoride molecules. An ECDL based on the Littman configuration is constructed and stabilized by a digital signal processor system. We stabilize the frequency of our ECDL to 4-0.77 MHz precision over 10 h and the Allan standard deviation reaches 2.6 × 10-11 at an integration time of 10 s. We lock two Ti：sapphire lasers through a transfer cavity, and either laser has a long-term frequency stability of 4-2.5 MHz.
We propose a novel scheme of optical confinement for atoms by using a concave grating reflector.The two-dimension grating structure with a concave surface shape exhibits strong focusing ability under radially polarized illumination.Especially,the light intensity at the focal point is about 100 times higher than that of the incident light.Such a focusing optical field reflected from the curved grating structure can provide a deep potential to trap cold atoms.We discuss the feasibility of the structure serving as an optical dipole trap.Our results are as follows.（i） Van der Waals attraction potential to the surface of the structure has a low effect on trapped atoms,（ⅱ） The maximum trapping potential is ~1.14 mK in the optical trap,which is high enough to trap cold ^87Rb atoms from a standard magneto-optical trap with a temperature of 120 μK,and the maximum photon scattering rate is lower than 1/s.（ⅲ） Such a microtrap array can also manipulate and control cold molecules,or microscopic particles.
Recently, there have been great interest and advancement in the field of laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping of molecules. The rich internal structure of molecules naturally lends themselves to extensive and exciting applications. In this paper, the radical 138Ba19F, as a promising candidate for laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping, is discussed in detail.The highly diagonal Franck-Condon factors between theX2∑＋1/2and A2∏1/2states are first confirmed with three different methods. Afterwards, with the effective Hamiltonian approach and irreducible tensor theory, the hypertine structure of theX2∑＋1/2state is calculated accurately. A scheme for laser cooling is given clearly. Besides, the Zeeman effects of the upper （ A2∏1/2）andlower（X2∑＋1/2）levels are also studied, and their respective g factors are obtained under a weak magnetic field. Its large g factor of the upper stateA2∏1/2is advantageous for magneto-optical trapping. Finally, by studying Stark effect of BaFin theX2∑＋1/2, we investigate the dependence of the internal effective electric field on the applied electric field. It is suggested that such a laser-cooled BaF is also a promising candidate for precision measurement of electron electric dipole moment.
