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arXiv:2406.10102

A high-flux cold-atom source utilising a grating atom chip

Hendrik Heine, Melanie S Le Gonidec, Aidan S. Arnold, Paul F. Griffin, Erling Riis, Waldemar Herr, Ernst Maria Rasel

Published Jun 14, 2024• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have been proposed for many applications in atom interferometry, as their coherence over long evolution times promises unprecedented sensitivity. To date, BECs can be efficiently created in devices using atom chips, but these are still complex and place high demands on size, weight and power. To further simplify these setups, we equipped an atom chip with a nano-structured diffraction-grating to derive all beams for the magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a single laser beam. Moreover, using a 2D$^+$-MOT as an atomic source and a beam with uniform intensity for the grating illumination, we capture $1\times10^9$ atoms in one second, cool them to $14\,μ$K, and demonstrate magnetic trapping using the atom chip. This is a major step towards the simplification of portable BEC devices for quantum sensing on earth and in space.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2406.10102

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Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have been proposed for many applications in atom interferometry, as their coherence over long evolution times promises unprecedented sensitivity. To date, BECs can be efficiently created in devices using atom chips, but these are still complex and place high demands on size, weight and power. To further simplify these setups, we equipped an atom chip with a nano-structured diffraction-grating to derive all beams for the magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a single laser beam. Moreover, using a 2D+^++-MOT as an atomic source and a beam with uniform intensity for the grating illumination, we capture 1×1091\times10^91×109 atoms in one second, cool them to 14 μ14\,μ14μK, and demonstrate magnetic trapping using the atom chip. This is a major step towards the simplification of portable BEC devices for quantum sensing on earth and in space.
Abstract Diffraction gratings have simplified the optical implementation of magneto-optical traps (MOTs) to require only a single input beam, however reaching high atom number and fast loading has proven to be a challenge. We equipped an atom chip with a grating surface and paired it with a velocity-tunable 2D+-MOT as an atomic source to facilitate efficient loading together with magnetic trapping. Using uniform grating illumination, we magneto-optically trap 1.0 ( 1 ) × 10 9 atoms within one second, cool them to 14.1 ( 3 ) μ K , and transfer a quarter of them into the magnetic chip trap. This is a key step towards simple portable quantum sensors employing (ultra-)cold atoms.
Compact, robust ultracold atomic sources are essential for onboard quantum sensors with applications in inertial sensing and geodesy. However, producing ultracold atoms like Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) increases the complexity of the system and often involves low production rates and high power consumption. Atom chips [1] offer rapid ultracold atom production through tight magnetic traps and are compatible with onboard experiments [2]. To address challenges such as optical beam alignment, grating magneto-optical traps (GMOTs) [3] have been developed, facilitating miniaturization of atomic clocks [4] and atom interferometers [5].
Since their initial production in 1995, the study of Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs) has offered exciting new insights into many fields including quantum mechanics and solid state physics. Atom chips, non-conducting surfaces with conducting lithographic traces printed on them, have proven successful in generating lower power magnetic traps for the formation of BECs. The combination of their lower power consumption, small form factor, and dense traps makes atom chips a promising way to face a ubiquitous challenge in the study of BECs: the effect of the earth’s gravitational field. To avoid these effects the NASA Cold Atom Laboratory aims to create BECs aboard the International Space Station (ISS) using an atom chip. This thesis presents the development of a similar atom chip based BEC experiment at Bates College, which will serve as a functional testbed for future research aboard the ISS. Both a theoretical background and a description of the experimental process by which a BEC is formed on an atom chip are provided. This process is primarily driven by laser cooling and magnetic trapping techniques. A 2D+ Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT), loaded from vapor pressure, is used as a slowed source of 87Rb in order to create a 3D MOT. We present measurements of the performance of both MOTs, and outline a path forward to condensation on the chip-based magnetic trap through use of radiofrequency evaporative cooling.
The sensitivity of ultracold-atom sensors has great potential for on-board applications, but achieving this precision outside the laboratory requires a robust, compact atom source. This work presents a hybrid atom chip that combines two techniques to simplify the cold-atom source: optical gratings for single-beam laser cooling and conductive microcircuits for tight magnetic confinement. This hybrid configuration also achieves Bose-Einstein condensation. This research paves the way for integrating more advanced features into atomic chips with applications in atomic interferometry and atomtronics.
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.
Compared with the conventional three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT), the grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) enables the cooling and trapping of atoms with only a single beam of light, thereby significantly reducing the overall volume of the device. Here, a grating chip with high diffraction efficiency is designed, and its parameters are optimized through simulations, which effectively suppresses the power of the zero-order diffracted light. Subsequently, the grating chip is fabricated and characterized, and using this chip, we successfully trap 1.7×106 atoms. The temperatures of the atomic cloud in the axial and radial directions are 5.6 mK and 17.0 mK, respectively. The successful implementation of the atom cooling and trapping experiment based on the diffraction grating provides important reference for the miniaturization of cold atom-based quantum sensors.