A high-speed, large-aperture 3D printed laser shutter for cold atom experiments
Abstract
Cold atom experiments require optical shutters with rapid and repeatable actuation. Existing solutions often involve high cost, limited aperture diameter and slow transitioning. We present a 3D-printable shutter design featuring a large aperture of 4.5 mm diameter, low-cost assembly, and robust performance. The device achieves switching times of 399±8 μs with delays of 2.7±0.2 ms for a fully illuminated aperture, with four different shutters demonstrating repeatable performance. We measure the shutter speed to be 7.0±0.1 m/s. This approach offers an accessible, scalable solution for cold atom and other optical experiments requiring multiple shutters with precise light control and avoids the need to resize or precision-align a beam through an aperture.
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BibTeX
@misc{rubinstein2026highspeed,
title = {{A high-speed, large-aperture 3D printed laser shutter for cold atom experiments}},
author = {Samantha L. Rubinstein and Charles W. Woffinden and Maarten T. M. Christenhusz and Guillaume Gauthier and Tyler W. Neely},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.27709},
eprint = {2610.27709},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.27709},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A high-speed, large-aperture 3D printed laser shutter for cold atom experiments
AU - Samantha L. Rubinstein
AU - Charles W. Woffinden
AU - Maarten T. M. Christenhusz
AU - Guillaume Gauthier
AU - Tyler W. Neely
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.27709
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.27709
AB - Cold atom experiments require optical shutters with rapid and repeatable actuation. Existing solutions often involve high cost, limited aperture diameter and slow transitioning. We present a 3D-printable shutter design featuring a large aperture of 4.5 mm diameter, low-cost assembly, and robust performance. The device achieves switching times of 399±8 μs with delays of 2.7±0.2 ms for a fully illuminated aperture, with four different shutters demonstrating repeatable performance. We measure the shutter speed to be 7.0±0.1 m/s. This approach offers an accessible, scalable solution for cold atom and other optical experiments requiring multiple shutters with precise light control and avoids the need to resize or precision-align a beam through an aperture.
ER -