Single atoms in a far-detuned dipole trap in cavity-QED

Report on the experimental progress towards storing and observing a single atom in the dipole trap is given. In the setup, the near-resonant weak light field is used to detect the atom within the cavity. On detection of an atom in the cavity, the far-detuned light field is switched on to trap the atom in the cavity-mode. The two light fields are spatially separated with an optical grating and each is focused on a separate photodetector. The transmission of the near-resonant probe-field versus time showing a single trapping event is also reported. This atom stays within the cavity for 25 ms. The autocorrelation of the transmitted photons for correlation times up to 30 /spl mu/s is described, showing the axial oscillation at approximately 300 kHz. The observed autocorrelation of the transmitted photons for correlation times up to 1.5 ms showed the radial oscillation at approximately 3 kHz.