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European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)

Cold atom deposition for nanoscale structuring of surfaces

Francesco Tantussi, Andrea Camposeo, F. Fuso, M. Allegrini, E. Arimondo

Published Jan 18, 2006• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The work aims to develop an atom lithography apparatus by exploiting cold atoms, differently from conventional implementations where thermal atomic sources are used. The cold atomic beam of the apparatus is produced continuously out of a pyramidal magnetooptical trap (MOT) for cesium atoms, a specific configuration of mirrors mounted as the inner part of a hollow pyramid, with a small apical aperture.

DOI
10.1109/eqec.2005.1567414

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The work aims to develop an atom lithography apparatus by exploiting cold atoms, differently from conventional implementations where thermal atomic sources are used. The cold atomic beam of the apparatus is produced continuously out of a pyramidal magnetooptical trap (MOT) for cesium atoms, a specific configuration of mirrors mounted as the inner part of a hollow pyramid, with a small apical aperture.
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An intense cold-atom beam source based on a modified pyramidal magneto-optical trap has been developed and characterized. We have produced a slow beam of cold cesium atoms with a continuous flux of 2.2× 109 atoms/s at a mean velocity of 15 m/s and with a divergence of 15 mrad. The corresponding radiant intensity is 1.2×1013 atom s-1 sr-1. We have characterized the performance of our beam source over a range of operating conditions, and the measured values for atom flux, mean velocity, and divergence are in good agreement with results from detailed Monte Carlo numerical simulations.
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.
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) are widely used for laser cooling of atoms. We have developed a high-flux compact cold-atom source based on a pyramid MOT with a unique adjustable aperture that is highly suitable for portable quantum technology devices, including space-based experiments. The adjustability enabled an investigation into the previously unexplored impact of aperture size on the atomic flux, and optimisation of the aperture size allowed us to demonstrate a higher flux than any reported cold-atom sources that use a pyramid, LVIS, 3D-MOT or grating MOT. We achieved 2.1(1) × 1010 atoms/s of 87Rb with a mean velocity of 32(1) m/s, FWHM of 27.6(9) m/s and divergence of 59(4) mrad. Halving the total optical power to 195 mW caused only a 20% reduction of the flux, and a 30% decrease in mean velocity. Methods to further decrease the velocity as required have been identified. The low power consumption and small size make this design suitable for a wide range of cold-atom technologies.