Single atoms trapped in tightly focused optical dipole traps provide an excellent experimental platform for quantum computing, precision measurement, and fundamental physics research. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a novel approach to enhancing the loading of single atoms by introducing a weak ancillary dipole beam. The loading rate of single atoms in a dipole trap can be significantly improved by only a few tens of microwatts of counter-propagating beam. It was also demonstrated that multiple atoms could be loaded with the assistance of a counter-propagating beam. By reducing the power requirements for trapping single atoms and enabling the trapping of multiple atoms, our method facilitates the extension of single-atom arrays and the investigation of collective light-atom interactions.
Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures