A high-speed, large-aperture 3D printed laser shutter for cold atom experiments
Samantha L. Rubinstein, Charles W. Woffinden, Maarten T. M. Christenhusz, Guillaume Gauthier, Tyler W. Neely — Submitted to arXiv on 20 Oct 2026
Cold atom experiments require optical shutters with rapid and repeatable actuation. Existing solutions often involve high cost, limited aperture diameter and slow transitioning. We present a 3D-printable shutter design featuring a large aperture of 4.5 mm diameter, low-cost assembly, and robust performance. The device achieves switching times of 399±8 μs with delays of 2.7±0.2 ms for a fully illuminated aperture, with four different shutters demonstrating repeatable performance. We measure the shutter speed to be 7.0±0.1 m/s. This approach offers an accessible, scalable solution for cold atom and other optical experiments requiring multiple shutters with precise light control and avoids the need to resize or precision-align a beam through an aperture.