A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies

Laser-cooled atoms are central to modern precision measurements. They are also increasingly important as an enabling technology for experimental cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing and matter-wave interferometry. Although significant progress has been made in miniaturizing...

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Main Authors: Nshii, C., Vangeleyn, M., Cotter, J., Griffin, P., Hinds, E., Ironside, Charlie, See, P., Sinclair, A., Riis, E., Arnold, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33709
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author Nshii, C.
Vangeleyn, M.
Cotter, J.
Griffin, P.
Hinds, E.
Ironside, Charlie
See, P.
Sinclair, A.
Riis, E.
Arnold, A.
author_facet Nshii, C.
Vangeleyn, M.
Cotter, J.
Griffin, P.
Hinds, E.
Ironside, Charlie
See, P.
Sinclair, A.
Riis, E.
Arnold, A.
author_sort Nshii, C.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Laser-cooled atoms are central to modern precision measurements. They are also increasingly important as an enabling technology for experimental cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing and matter-wave interferometry. Although significant progress has been made in miniaturizing atomic metrological devices, these are limited in accuracy by their use of hot atomic ensembles and buffer gases. Advances have also been made in producing portable apparatus that benefits from the advantages of atoms in the microkelvin regime. However, simplifying atomic cooling and loading using microfabrication technology has proved difficult. In this Letter we address this problem, realizing an atom chip that enables the integration of laser cooling and trapping into a compact apparatus. Our source delivers ten thousand times more atoms than previous magneto-optical traps with microfabricated optics and, for the first time, can reach sub-Doppler temperatures. Moreover, the same chip design offers a simple way to form stable optical lattices. These features, combined with simplicity of fabrication and ease of operation, make these new traps a key advance in the development of cold-atom technology for high-accuracy, portable measurement devices. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-337092018-03-29T09:08:24Z A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies Nshii, C. Vangeleyn, M. Cotter, J. Griffin, P. Hinds, E. Ironside, Charlie See, P. Sinclair, A. Riis, E. Arnold, A. Laser-cooled atoms are central to modern precision measurements. They are also increasingly important as an enabling technology for experimental cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing and matter-wave interferometry. Although significant progress has been made in miniaturizing atomic metrological devices, these are limited in accuracy by their use of hot atomic ensembles and buffer gases. Advances have also been made in producing portable apparatus that benefits from the advantages of atoms in the microkelvin regime. However, simplifying atomic cooling and loading using microfabrication technology has proved difficult. In this Letter we address this problem, realizing an atom chip that enables the integration of laser cooling and trapping into a compact apparatus. Our source delivers ten thousand times more atoms than previous magneto-optical traps with microfabricated optics and, for the first time, can reach sub-Doppler temperatures. Moreover, the same chip design offers a simple way to form stable optical lattices. These features, combined with simplicity of fabrication and ease of operation, make these new traps a key advance in the development of cold-atom technology for high-accuracy, portable measurement devices. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33709 10.1038/nnano.2013.47 restricted
spellingShingle Nshii, C.
Vangeleyn, M.
Cotter, J.
Griffin, P.
Hinds, E.
Ironside, Charlie
See, P.
Sinclair, A.
Riis, E.
Arnold, A.
A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title_full A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title_fullStr A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title_full_unstemmed A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title_short A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
title_sort surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33709