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
1×109 atoms in one second, cool them to
14μK, 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.
Laser-cooled atoms are increasingly being used to realise practical quantum devices, motivating the development of compact and robust atom sources. Grating magneto-optical traps (gMOTs) simplify the cold-atom source architecture but are typically vapour-loaded and provide limited atomic flux. Here we explore the loading of gMOTs from cold-atom beams. We numerically simulate loading to show that unbalanced diffracted beams deflect incoming atoms away from the trap centre, thereby strongly constraining radial loading. In contrast, axial loading injects atoms directly into the trapping volume and largely avoids these effects. We experimentally demonstrate rapid axial loading of a gMOT, achieving loading rates of
2.1×109 atoms~s
−1 using a moving optical molasses to transfer atoms from a 2D MOT into the gMOT. These results establish axial loading as a robust route to high-flux gMOT operation for portable cold-atom systems.