Efficient quenching of population trapping in excited Yb+

Wc report on a study to dctcrminc the efllciency of various buffer gases in quenching the population trapping states of laser excited ytterbium ions. 'The ions were confined in an rf/dc hybrid trap, and their 2 S 1 / 2 H 2 P 3 / 2 transition was excited with 329 nm ]ascr light. Buflcr gsscs used include 11 2 , N2, C02, Ar, and llc at several diflcrcnt pressure rcgitncs. Wc have identified N 2 to bc highly cfhcient in quenching the population of the trapping states, and thus be the most suitable buffer gas to usc with ytterbium for the development of a trapped ion microwave frequency standard,