A versatile and reliably reusable ultrahigh vacuum viewport

Abstract

We present a viewport for use in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) based upon the preflattened solder seal design presented in earlier work [Cox, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 3185 (2003)]. The design features significant modifications to improve long term performance. The windows have been leak tested to less than 10-10 atm cm3 /s. From atom number measurements in an optical dipole trap loaded from a vapor cell magneto-optical trap inside a vacuum chamber accommodating these viewports, we measure a trap lifetime of 9.5 s suggesting a pressure of around 10-10 Torr limited by background rubidium vapor pressure. We also present a simplified design where the UHV seal is made directly to a vacuum pipe. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.