Optics' New Focus: Beams of Atoms

V. I. Balykin

Yong Xia, Jianping Yin

We propose a new scheme to generate a focusing hollow beam (FHB) by use of an azimuthally distributed 2pi-phase plate and a convergent thin lens. From the Fresnel diffraction theory, we calculate the intensity distributions of the FHB in free propagation space and study the relationship between the waist w_0 of the incident Gaussian beam (or the focal length f of the lens) and the dark spot size (or the beam radius) at the focal point and the relationship between the maximum radial intensity of the FHB and the dark spot size (or the beam radius) at the focal point, respectively. Our study shows that the FHB can be used to cool and trap neutral atoms by intensity-gradient-induced Sisyphus cooling due to an extremely high intensity gradient of the FHB itself near the focal point, or to guide and focus a cold molecular beam. We also calculate the optical potential of the blue-detuned FHB for ^85Rb atoms and find that in the focal plane, the smaller the dark spot size of the FHB is, the higher the optical potential is, and the greater the corresponding optimal detuning delta is; these qualities are beneficial to an atomic lens not only because it is profitable to obtain an atomic lens with a higher resolution, but also because it is helpful to reduce the spontaneous photon-scattering effect of atoms in the FHB.

Ji Xian-Ming, Yong Xia, Yin Jian-Ping

We propose a new scheme to guide cold atoms (or molecules) by using a one-dimensional (1D) array of focused hollow-beam pipes generated by the combination of a binary phase grating and a 1D array of micro-cylindrical lenses on the substrate surface. We also calculate the intensity distribution of the focused hollow-beam pipe array and its optical potential for 85 Rb atoms. The result shows that when the blue detuning of the incident beam and its intensity are 10 GHz and 7.0×10 3 W/m 2 respectively, the horizontal dark spot size of each focused hollow-beam pipe and the efficient optical potential are 4.4 μm and ~0.23 mK, which is high enough to guide cold 85 Rb atoms (~20 μK) from a standard optical molasses and then to realize the 1D array of surface atomic waveguides on an atom chip.

Viktor I Balykin

J. L. Hanssen, E. A. Dakin, Jabez J. McClelland +1 more

The authors describe a new method for creating a high quality focused ion beam using laser-cooled neutral atoms in a magneto-optical trap as an ion source. They show that this new technique can provide spot resolutions and brightness values that are better than the state of the art in focused ion beams. The source can be used with a range of different ionic species and can be combined with laser cooling techniques to exert unprecedented control over the ion emission, for example, producing single ions “on demand.” The beam quality is a result of a high brightness and a narrow energy distribution, both of which stem from the cold temperature (≈100μK) of the atoms. The ions are produced by subjecting the cold neutral atoms to a photoionization laser, after which they become a compact source of nearly monoenergetic ions. With the application of a potential gradient, the ions form a beam that can be focused via standard ion optical techniques. They discuss estimations based on the initial size of the ion cloud and the energy distribution and show that the resulting beam has a low emittance.

Christopher J. Foot