Progress toward a dipolar quantum gas microscope with an expandable lattice

Highly dipolar atoms present an exciting opportunity to extend previous experiments to more complex systems influenced by long range, anisotropic interactions. Erbium, with its large dipole moment, numerous isotopes, and rich Feshbach spectrum, is an excellent element for such research. We present on current progress toward the construction of a novel optical lattice expandable in all three dimensions. This expandable lattice gives us tunability of the lattice spacing by a factor of 20. This allows for short spacing lattice that maximizes the strength of the dipole-dipole interaction, and then allows for in situ imaging in a larger spacing lattice with higher fidelity.