Long-term stability of continuous-wave emission from an ion-cavity system

Combining the technologies of ion-trapping and cavity quantum-electrodynamics, we have achieved uninterrupted coupling of a single ion to a mode of an optical resonator up to a time-scale of 10^3 seconds. The interaction of ion and field was implemented as a cavity-assisted Raman-transition from the ground state to an excited metastable state. The coupling was probed by detecting the photons emitted from the resonator upon excitation of the cavity mode. We have optimized the system parameters to obtain a high emission-rate. The experiment provides a basis for the controlled generation of single-photon pulses and other cavity quantum-electrodynamics effects relying on the continuous interaction of a single particle with a quantized field.