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arXiv:0905.0777 · Optics Express

Integrated magneto-optical traps on a chip using silicon pyramid structures

S. Pollock, Joseph P. Cotter, Athanasios Laliotis, Edward A. Hinds

Published Jul 29, 2009• 60 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have integrated magneto-optical traps (MOTs) into an atom chip by etching pyramids into a silicon wafer. These have been used to trap atoms on the chip, directly from a room temperature vapor of rubidium. This new atom trapping method provides a simple way to integrate several atom sources on the same chip. It represents a substantial advance in atom chip technology and offers new possibilities for atom chip applications such as integrated single atom or photon sources and molecules on a chip.

DOI
10.1364/oe.17.014109

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We have integrated magneto-optical traps (MOTs) into an atom chip by etching pyramids into a silicon wafer. These have been used to trap atoms on the chip, directly from a room temperature vapor of rubidium. This new atom trapping method provides a simple way to integrate several atom sources on the same chip. It represents a substantial advance in atom chip technology and offers new possibilities for atom chip applications such as integrated single atom or photon sources and molecules on a chip.
We investigate the operation of pyramidal magneto-optical traps (MOTs) microfabricated in silicon. Measurements of the loading and loss rates give insights into the role of the nearby surface in the MOT dynamics. Studies of the fluorescence versus laser frequency and intensity allow us to develop a simple theory of operation. The number of 85 Rb atoms trapped in the pyramid is approximately L 6 , where L ≲6 is the size of the pyramid opening in mm. This follows quite naturally from the relation between capture velocity and size and differs from the L 3.6 often used for describing larger MOTs. Our results represent substantial progress towards fully integrated atomic physics experiments and devices.
We have made magneto-optical traps (MOTs) on a chip which is able to cool and trap ~108atoms directly from a ~1cm3thermal background of87Rb. Diffraction gratings are used to manipulate the light from a single input beam to create the beams required for a MOT [1,2]. The gratings are etched into the surface of a silicon or GaAs wafer by either electron beam, or photo-lithography making them simple to fabricate and integrate into other atom chip architectures. We have developed a variety of gratings for utilisation both inside and outside a vacuum chamber - facilitating their incorporation into both new and existing devices. Unlike previously integrated cold atom sources on a chip [3,4] the atoms now sit above the surface where they can be easily imaged, manipulated and transferred into other on-chip potentials.
We investigate the operation of pyramidal magneto-optical traps (MOTs) microfabricated in silicon. Measurements of the loading and loss rates give insight into the role of the nearby surface in the MOT dynamics. Studies of the fluorescence versus laser frequency and intensity allow us to develop a simple theory of operation. The number of 85Rb atoms trapped in the pyramid is approximately L6, where L . 6 is the size in mm. This follows quite naturally from the relation between capture velocity and size and differs from the L3.6 often used to describe larger MOTs. Our results constitute substantial progress towards fully integrated atomic physics experiments and devices.
Ultracold atoms can be manipulated using microfabricated devices known as atom chips. These have significant potential for applications in sensing, metrology, and quantum information processing. To date, the chips are loaded by transfer of atoms from an external macroscopic magnetooptical trap (MOT) into microscopic traps on the chip. This transfer involves a series of steps, which complicate the experimental procedure and lead to atom losses. In this paper, we present a design for integrating a MOT into a silicon wafer by combining a concave pyramidal mirror with a square wire loop. We describe how an array of such traps has been fabricated, and we present magnetic, thermal, and optical properties of the chip.
The field of atom chips is a relatively new area of research which is rapidly becoming of great interest to the scientific community. It started out as a small branch of cold atom physics which has quickly grown into a multidisciplinary\nsubject. It now encompasses topics from fundamental atomic and quantum theory, optics and laser science, to the engineering of ultra sensitive sensors.\n\nIn this thesis the first steps are taken towards a truly integrated atom chip device for real world applications. Multiple devices are presented that allow the trapping, cooling, manipulation and counting of atoms. Each device presents a new component required for the integration and miniaturisation of atom chips\ninto a single device, capable of being used as a sensor.\n\nInitially, a wire trap was created capable of trapping and splitting a cloud of BoseEinstein condensate (BEC) for use in atom interferometry. Using this chip a BEC has been successfully created, trapped and coherent splitting of this cloud has been achieved.\n\nSubsequently, the integration and simplification of the initial trapping process was approached. In all the experiments to date, atoms are initially collected from a warm vapour by a magneto-optical trap (MOT). This thesis presents a new approach in which microscopic pyramidal MOTs’ are integrated into the chip itself. This greatly reduces the number of optical components and helps to simplify the process significantly.\n\nAlso presented is a method for creating a planar-concave micro-cavity capable of single atom detection. One such cavity consists of a concave mirror fabricated in silicon and the planar tip of an optical fibre. The performance of the resonators\nis highly dependent on the surface roughness and shape profile of the concave mirrors therefore a detailed study into the fabrication technique and its effects on these parameters was undertaken. Using such cavities single atom detection has been shown to be possible. These cavities have also been sccessfully integrated into an atom wire guide.\n\nFinally a co-sputtered amorphous silicon/titanium (a-Si/Ti) nanocomposite material was created and studied for its use as a novel structural material. This material is potentially suitable for integrated circuitry (IC)/Micro-electromechanical-\nsystems (MEMS) integration. The material’s electrical and\nstructural properties were investigated and initial results suggest that a-Si/Ti has the potential to be a compelling structural material for future IC/MEMS integration.\n\nTo build all of these devices, a full range of standard microfabrication techniques was necessary as well as some non standard processes that required considerable process development such as the electrochemical deposition.\n\nThis thesis presents a tool box of fabrication techniques for creating various components capable of different tasks that can be integrated into a single device. Each component has been successfully demonstrated in laboratory conditions. This represents a significant step toward a real world atom chip device.
We have used a pyramid magneto-optical trap (MOT) to create a compact source of cold rubidium atoms. The four dielectric-coated metal mirrors in vacuum are arranged in the form of a pyramid that creates the light field for a MOT from a single ingoing laser beam. The atoms are pushed out through a hole (aperture) in the apex of the pyramid, in a direction determined by the laser light, to give a flux of Rb-87 atoms greater than 2 × 10^10 per second with a mean velocity of 33 m/s (FWHM of 28 m/s) and a divergence of 58 mrad. The pyramid MOT has a unique mechanism for adjusting aperture size and it is highly suitable for portable quantum technology devices.