Laser cooling of 171Yb+ ions in a frequency-modulated field

We have investigated the laser cooling of ytterbium ions in a radio-frequency trap by a frequency-modulated resonant laser field. It has been shown that the lowest laser cooling temperatures, close to the Doppler limit, can be reached at field modulation parameters μ ≥ 0.1. At lower μ values, the region of field parameters optimal for cooling shifts to higher intensities and the minimum possible laser cooling temperature increases.