The work in this thesis falls into two broad categories: creating Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in compact and portable systems, and manipulating neutral atoms in small systems to facilitate a continuously running neutral Rydberg atom quantum computer. The work with BECs focused on the miniaturization of ultracold matter systems. Ultracold matter has potential uses in many practical applications, such as atomic clocks, inertial sensors, and electric and magnetic field sensing. Much of the potential of atom chip based systems relies on the ability for the system to make its way out of the lab. The BEC system created occupies a volume of 0.4m^3 and operates at a repetition rate as high as 0.3Hz, creating Rubidium BECs of around 20k atoms. The system contains all of the components needed to produce and image BECs, including the UHV system, lasers, data acquisition hardware, electronics, and imaging equipment. The system can be easily reconfigured for different applications simply by changing the atom chip. As such, the hope is that it can serve as a standardized platform for a variety of portable experiments that utilize ultracold matter. The quantum computing work focuses on the ongoing work in atom manipulation for neutral Rydberg atom quantum computing. Neutral Rydberg atom quantum computing has great potential and, by harnessing the tool kit developed working with cold atoms, has the potential of scalability and continuous operation. An entirely new laser system and vacuum cell was built to work with Cesium. We have currently built a state of the art vacuum cell and developed far-detuned optical trapping and transport techniques to facilitate continuous quantum computing. Ongoing efforts include optical lattice generation and single-atom manipulation and imaging.The work in this thesis falls into two broad categories: creating Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in compact and portable systems, and manipulating neutral atoms in small systems to facilitate a continuously running neutral Rydberg atom quantum computer. The work with BECs focused on the miniaturization of ultracold matter systems. Ultracold matter has potential uses in many practical applications, such as atomic clocks, inertial sensors, and electric and magnetic field sensing. Much of the potential of atom chip based systems relies on the ability for the system to make its way out of the lab. The BEC system created occupies a volume of 0.4m^3 and operates at a repetition rate as high as 0.3Hz, creating Rubidium BECs of around 20k atoms. The system contains all of the components needed to produce and image BECs, including the UHV system, lasers, data acquisition hardware, electronics, and imaging equipment. The system can be easily reconfigured for different applications simply by changing the atom chip. As such, the hope is that it can serve as a standardized platform for a variety of portable experiments that utilize ultracold matter. The quantum computing work focuses on the ongoing work in atom manipulation for neutral Rydberg atom quantum computing. Neutral Rydberg atom quantum computing has great potential and, by harnessing the tool kit developed working with cold atoms, has the potential of scalability and continuous operation. An entirely new laser system and vacuum cell was built to work with Cesium. We have currently built a state of the art vacuum cell and developed far-detuned optical trapping and transport techniques to facilitate continuous quantum computing. Ongoing efforts include optical lattice generation and single-atom manipulation and imaging.

Jan 1, 20122 citations

A Versatile BEC Apparatus

Gauthier Guillaume

Springer thesesJan 1, 20200 citations

Atom-chip Bose-Einstein condensation in a portable vacuum cell

Shengwang Du, Matthew B. Squires, Yutaka Imai +6 more

A $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is produced in a portable atom-chip system less than $30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}15\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm}$, where the ultrahigh vacuum is maintained by a small, $8\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}∕\mathrm{s}$ , ion pump and nonevaporable getter. An aluminum nitride chip with lithographically patterned copper is used to seal the vacuum system, provide the electrical feedthroughs, and create the magnetic trap potentials. All cooling and trapping processes occur $0.6--2.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}$ from ambient laboratory air. A condensate of about 2000 $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms in $F=2,{m}_{F}=2$ is achieved after $4.21\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}$ of rf forced evaporation. A magneto-optical trap lifetime of $30\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}$ indicates the vacuum near the chip surface is about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{torr}$. This work suggests that a chip-based BEC-compatible vacuum system can occupy a volume of less than $0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}$ .A $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is produced in a portable atom-chip system less than $30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}15\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm}$, where the ultrahigh vacuum is maintained by a small, $8\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}∕\mathrm{s}$, ion pump and nonevaporable getter. An aluminum nitride chip with lithographically patterned copper is used to seal the vacuum system, provide the electrical feedthroughs, and create the magnetic trap potentials. All cooling and trapping processes occur $0.6--2.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}$ from ambient laboratory air. A condensate of about 2000 $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms in $F=2,{m}_{F}=2$ is achieved after $4.21\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}$ of rf forced evaporation. A magneto-optical trap lifetime of $30\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}$ indicates the vacuum near the chip surface is about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{torr}$. This work suggests that a chip-based BEC-compatible vacuum system can occupy a volume of less than $0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}$.

Physical Review ANov 10, 2004122 citations

^{87}\mathrm{Rb}

Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is produced in a portable atom-chip system less than $30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}30\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}15\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm}$, where the ultrahigh vacuum is maintained by a small,

8\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}∕\mathrm{s}

, ion pump and nonevaporable getter. An aluminum nitride chip with lithographically patterned copper is used to seal the vacuum system, provide the electrical feedthroughs, and create the magnetic trap potentials. All cooling and trapping processes occur

0.6--2.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}

from ambient laboratory air. A condensate of about 2000

^{87}\mathrm{Rb}

atoms in

F=2,{m}_{F}=2

is achieved after

4.21\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}

of rf forced evaporation. A magneto-optical trap lifetime of

30\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}

indicates the vacuum near the chip surface is about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{torr}$. This work suggests that a chip-based BEC-compatible vacuum system can occupy a volume of less than

0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{L}