A versatile microwave source for cold atom experiments controlled by a field programmable gate array
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Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
Published on: March 30, 2017
Isaiah Morgenstern1, Shan Zhong1, Qimin Zhang1
1Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA.
Abstract:
We present a microwave source that is controlled by a commercially available field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Using an FPGA allows for precise control of the time dependent microwave-dressing applied to a sample of trapped cold atoms. We test our microwave source by exciting Rabi oscillations in a Na spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. We include, as supplements, the complete source code, parts' lists, pin connection diagrams, and schematics to make it easy for any group to build and use this device.
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