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Physical Review Letters

Quantum-State-Selective Mirror Reflection of Atoms by Laser Light

V. I. Balykin, Vladilen S Letokhov, Yu. B. Ovchinnikov, А. И. Сидоров

Published May 23, 1988• 206 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have demonstrated the specular reflection of Na atoms at a nonuniform laser field, the reflection coefficient of the "atomic mirror" being close to 100%. A specific feature of the reflection process is its quantum-state-selective character. The experimentally measured reflection selectivity (the ratio between the reflection coefficients of the sodium atoms in the ground-state sublevels with $F=2$ and $F=1$ was around 100.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.60.2137

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We have demonstrated the specular reflection of Na atoms at a nonuniform laser field, the reflection coefficient of the "atomic mirror" being close to 100%. A specific feature of the reflection process is its quantum-state-selective character. The experimentally measured reflection selectivity (the ratio between the reflection coefficients of the sodium atoms in the ground-state sublevels with F=2F=2F=2 and F=1F=1F=1 was around 100.
In the reflection of atoms by evanescent wave the amplitude of the light field can be changed not necessarily adiabatically slow in comparison with relaxation of internal atomic motion. An approach to describe the reflection of atoms by evanescent wave is the dressed state picture. An atomic mirror can be formed also by a focused elliptical laser beam, in which atoms intersect near the waist of the laser beam. A simple evanescent wave allows one to create a high homogeneous field along the surface of an atomic mirror, without a limitation on the intensity of the field in an evanescent wave. The size of an atomic mirror is usually restricted by the laser intensity required by the reflection. There are several processes at the reflection of atom by light which could lead to non ideal properties of the mirror. One of the remarkable properties of an atomic mirror is its ability to reflect atoms in a certain quantum state.
A matter wave mirror using a single, pulsed, super-Gaussian (SG) optical beam for specular reflection of neutral ground-state molecules is studied. The mirror has a high reflectivity close to 100% and nearly perfect specular reflection over a large incident angle. This mirror avoids the usual problems due to surface roughness and the van der Waals interactions that occur in conventional atomic mirrors. Further, it is capable of reflectance and transmittance with applications to velocity filtering and deceleration of cold molecules.
We explore the design of atom-optic components, such as mirrors, to manipulate ultracold atoms. We show that it is possible to enhance significantly quantum effects by engineering sharp features in the interaction potential between atoms and the component. We illustrate the concept by calculating the reflection probability for ultracold sodium atoms incident on a bichromatic evanescent-wave atomic mirror created by lasers red and blue detuned from resonance with intensities and detunings chosen to enhance quantum reflection of a purely attractive potential. With realistic parameters for sodium atoms incident on glass at 10 cm/s, up to 30% reflection can be obtained.
Recent results on the reflection of waves from ridged mirrors are discussed. Numerical calculations, analytical estimates and the direct measurements of coefficient of specular reflection of atomic waves from solid-state mirrors are combined. The reflectivity is approximated as an elementary function of period L of ridges, their width ℓ, wavenumber K, grazing angle θ and effective depth w of the van der Waals potential. In a special case L = ℓ, the fit reproduces the reflectivity of flat surfaces. Our approximation allows us to optimize the L at given ℓ and estimate the maximum performance of a ridged mirror. Such a mirror is suggested as a focusing element for the nano-scale imaging system. 1.