  We have examined loading of 85Rb atoms into a shallow Far-Off-Resonance Trap
(FORT) from an optical molasses and compared it to loading from a
Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). We found that substantially more atoms could be
loaded into the FORT via an optical molasses as compared to loading from the
MOT alone. To determine why this was the case, we measured the rate of atoms
loaded into the FORT and the losses from the FORT during the loading process.
For both MOT and molasses loading, we examined atom load rate and losses over a
range of detunings as well as hyperfine pump powers. We found that the losses
induced during MOT loading were essentially the same as the losses induced
during molasses loading at the same MOT/molasses detuning. In contrast, load
rate of the molasses was higher than that of a MOT at a given detuning. This
caused the optical molasses to be able to load more atoms than the MOT.
Optimization of FORT loading form an optical molasses improved the number of
atoms we could trap by a factor of two over that of optimal loading from a MOT.
