Dynamical low-noise microwave source for cold-atom experiments

Abstract: The generation and manipulation of ultracold atomic ensembles in the quantum regime require the application of dynamically controllable microwave fields with ultra-low noise performance. Here, we present a low-phase-noise microwave source with two independently controllable output paths. Both paths generate frequencies in the range of $6.835\,$GHz $\pm$ $25\,$MHz for hyperfine transitions in $^{87}$Rb. The presented microwave source combines two commercially available frequency synthesizers: an ultra-low-noise oscillator at $7\,$GHz and a direct digital synthesizer for radiofrequencies. We demonstrate a low integrated phase noise of $480\,\mu$rad in the range of $10\,$Hz to $100\,$kHz and fast updates of frequency, amplitude and phase in sub-$\mu$s time scales. The highly dynamic control enables the generation of shaped pulse forms and the deployment of composite pulses to suppress the influence of various noise sources.