The collimator

In sec. 1.2 we have already taken a look at the theory of the collimator, and found values for the total number of reflections $N$, the incoupling angle $\alpha_0$, and the angle between the pair of mirrors $\gamma$. In this section we will prepare the angles of the collimator for use, and explain the means of aligning the mirror angles and the collimator. We changed the value for $\gamma$ from 1.74 to 1.4 mrad, since we assumed by calculating the angle $\gamma$, that the laser light was covering the complete inside of the collimator. But because we were forced to enlarge the incoupling angle $\alpha_0$, the collimator will not be completely filled with light. The force on the atoms reduces, and the atoms can not follow the change in angle of the light fast enough to stay in resonance. To compensate for this effect, we chose to reduce the angle $\gamma$ to a value of 1.4 mrad.