Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Reviews of Modern Physics

Magnetic microtraps for ultracold atoms

József Fortágh, Claus Zimmermann

Published Feb 1, 2007• 578 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Trapping and manipulating ultracold atoms and degenerate quantum gases in magnetic micropotentials is reviewed. Starting with a comprehensive description of the basic concepts and fabrication techniques of microtraps together with early pioneering experiments, emphasis is placed on current experiments on degenerate quantum gases. This includes the loading of quantum gases in microtraps, coherent manipulation, and transport of condensates together with recently reported experiments on matter-wave interferometry on a chip. Theoretical approaches for describing atoms in waveguides and beam splitters are briefly summarized, and, finally, the interaction between atoms and the surface of microtraps is covered in some detail.

DOI
10.1103/revmodphys.79.235

Related papers

Permanent magnet atom chips for BEC and microtrap arrays

S. Whitlock, R. Gerritsma, T. Fernholz +1 more

An atom chip is designed to manipulate magnetically trapped ultracold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) near a surface using micro fabricated patterns of current-carrying wires or permanent magnetic materials. We report on experiments using our permanent magnet atom chip.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2007•0 citations

Manipulation of ultracold atoms using double-loop microtraps

William Arie van Wijngaarden, Bin Jian, Andrei Mouraviev

Abstract Ultracold atoms created using microtraps are being used in an increasing number of diverse applications. This paper reviews the double-loop microtrap which consists of two concentric circular wire loops carrying oppositely oriented currents. This generates a magnetic field configuration that traps a magnetic dipole in three-dimensions. The position of the trapped atoms relative to the atom chip surface containing the microwire loops, can be precisely controlled by applying different currents in the two loops or alternatively using a so called bias magnetic field oriented perpendicular to the chip surface. Double-loop microtraps can be daisy chained in series to create a one- or two-dimensional microtrap array. Experiments that have demonstrated a double-loop microtrap array are discussed. Future possibilities are presented as to how atoms can be transferred between adjacent microtraps as well as the use of an additional micro sized Ioffe coil to create a trap having a nonzero magnetic field minimum to reduce atom loss by suppressing Majorana transitions.

Physica Scripta•Apr 13, 2016•0 citations

Double-Loop Microtrap Array for Ultracold Atoms

Bin Jian

A novel kind of magnetic microtrap is demonstrated for ultracold neutral atoms. It consists of two concentric loops of radii $r_1$ and $r_2$ having oppositely oriented currents. A magnetic field minimum is generated in three dimensions that can be used to trap the atoms with a trap depth of about 1 mK using a current of 2.6 A. The condition $r_2/r_1$ = 2.2 maximizes the restoring force on the atoms toward the trap center. Unlike conventional magnetic microtraps, an external bias field is not required. Moreover, a one dimensional array of double-loop microtraps can be created by daisy chaining single microtrap circuits. \nA linear array of three microtraps having $r_1$ = 300 $\\mu$m was fabricated as part of an atom chip. The following three techniques were developed to load the microtrap array: 1) atoms initially contained in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) were transported to the atom chip by a conventional magnetic trap, 2) atoms were first loaded into a mirror MOT and 3) atoms were initially loaded in a far off resonance optical dipole trap (FORT). Each technique loaded greater than $10^5$ $^{87}$Rb atoms into the microtrap array. The lowest temperature of 30 $\\mu$K for the microtrapped atom cloud was achieved using FORT loading. The strength and the position of the microtrap could be precisely adjusted over a range from 300 to 50 $\\mu$m above the atom chip surface by applying an external bias magnetic field. The lifetime of the atoms trapped in the microtrap array was measured to be 350 ms which was limited by the collisions with residual background gas.

•May 6, 2014•0 citations

Magnetic trapping on an atom chip

Dobrosława Bartoszek-Bober, Roman Panaś, Tomasz Kawalec

The article reviews briefly the rapidly evolving field of so-called atom chips for neutral atoms. Emphasis is placed on magnetic microtraps – on-chip Ioffe-Prichard and dimple trap issue is covered in some detail. The experimental setup for cooling and trapping 87Rb atoms is also presented together with some early results of on-chip magnetic trapping. Full Text: PDF References J. Schmiedmayer, "Guiding and trapping a neutral atom on a wire", Phys. Rev. A 52, R13 (1995). CrossRef M. H. Anderson, J. R. Ensher, M. R. Matthews, C. E. Wieman, and E. A. Cornell, "Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Atomic Vapor", Science 269, 198 (1995). CrossRef K. B. Davis, M.-O. Mewes, M. R. Andrews, N. J. van Druten, D. S. Durfee, D. M. Kurn et al., "Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Gas of Sodium Atoms", Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3969 (1995). CrossRef J. D. Weinstein, K. G. Libbrecht, "Microscopic magnetic traps for neutral atoms", Phys. Rev. A 52, 4004 (1995). CrossRef D. Müller, D. Z. Anderson, R. J. Grow, P. D. D. Schwindt, and E. A. Cornell, "Guiding Neutral Atoms Around Curves with Lithographically Patterned Current-Carrying Wires", Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 5194 (1999). CrossRef N. H. Dekker, C. S. Lee, V. Lorent, J. H. Thywissen, S. P. Smith, M. Drndi et al., "Guiding Neutral Atoms on a Chip", Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1124 (2000). CrossRef J. Reichel, W. Hänsel, and T. W. Hänsch, "Atomic Micromanipulation with Magnetic Surface Traps", Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 3398 (1999). CrossRef D. Cassettari, B. Hessmo, R. Folman, T. Maier, and J. Schmiedmayer, "Beam Splitter for Guided Atoms", Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5483 (2000). CrossRef M. A. Cirone, A. Negretti, T. Calarco, P. Krüger, J. Schmiedmayer, "A simple quantum gate with atom chips", Eur. Phys. J. D 35, 165 (2005). CrossRef W. Hänsel, P. Hommelhoff, T. W. Hänsch, and J. Reichel, "Bose–Einstein condensation on a microelectronic chip", Nature 413, 498 (2001). CrossRef H. Ott, J. Fortagh, G. Schlotterbeck, A. Grossmann, and C. Zimmermann, "Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Surface Microtrap", Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 230401 (2001). CrossRef Y. Lin, I. Teper, C. Chin, V. Vuletić, "Impact of the Casimir-Polder Potential and Johnson Noise on Bose-Einstein Condensate Stability Near Surfaces", Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050404 (2004). CrossRef E. Salim, J. DeNatale, D. Farkas, K. Hudek, S. McBride, J. Michalchuk et al, "Compact, microchip-based systems for practical applications of ultracold atoms", Quantum Inf. Process. 10, 975 (2011). CrossRef S. Groth, Development, "Fabrication and Characterisation of Atom Chips", doctoral dissertation. (2006). R. Folman, P. Krüger, J. Schmiedmayer, J. Denschlag, C. Henkel, "Microscopic atom optics: From wires to an atom chip", Adv. At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 48, 263 (2002). CrossRef A. Arnold, Preparation and Manipulation of an 87Rb Bose-Einstein Condensate (University of Sussex 1999), PhD thesis. D. M. Farkas, K. M. Hudek, E. A. Salim, S. R. Segal, M. B. Squires, and D. Z. Anderson, "A compact, transportable, microchip-based system for high repetition rate production of Bose–Einstein condensates ", Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 093102 (2010). CrossRef K. Dieckmann, R. J. C. Spreeuw, M. Weidemüller, and J. T. M. Walraven, "Two-dimensional magneto-optical trap as a source of slow atoms", Phys. Rev. A 58, 3891 (1998). CrossRef W. Petrich, M. H. Anderson, J. R. Ensher, and E. A. Cornell, "Behavior of atoms in a compressed magneto-optical trap", J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 11, 1332 (1994). CrossRef

Photonics Letters of Poland•Oct 1, 2013•1 citation

A class of permanent magnetic lattices for ultracold atoms

Saeed Ghanbari, Tien D. Kieu, Peter Hannaford

We report on a class of configurations of permanent magnets on an atom chip for producing 1D and 2D periodic arrays of magnetic microtraps with non-zero potential minima and variable barrier height for trapping and manipulating ultracold atoms and quantum degenerate gases. We present analytical expressions for an infinite magnetic lattice for the relevant physical quantities and compare them with our numerical results. In one of the configurations of permanent magnets, we show how it is possible by changing the angle between the crossed periodic arrays of magnets to go from a 1D array of 2D microtraps to a 2D array of 3D microtraps and thus to continuously vary the barrier heights between the microtraps.

arXiv:cond-mat/0611512•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Mar 5, 2007•14 citations

Magnetic lattices for ultracold atoms

Tien Duy Tran, Yibo Wang, ALex Glaetzle +3 more

This article reviews the development in our laboratory of magnetic lattices comprising periodic arrays of magnetic microtraps created by patterned magnetic films to trap periodic arrays of ultracold atoms. Recent achievements include the realisation of multiple Bose-Einstein condensates in a 10 micron-period one-dimensional magnetic lattice; the fabrication of sub-micron-period square and triangular magnetic lattice structures suitable for quantum tunnelling experiments; the trapping of ultracold atoms in a sub-micron-period triangular magnetic lattice; and a proposal to use long-range interacting Rydberg atoms to achieve spin-spin interactions between sites in a large-spacing magnetic lattice.

arXiv:1906.08918•Jun 21, 2019•0 citations
Trapping and manipulating ultracold atoms and degenerate quantum gases in magnetic micropotentials is reviewed. Starting with a comprehensive description of the basic concepts and fabrication techniques of microtraps together with early pioneering experiments, emphasis is placed on current experiments on degenerate quantum gases. This includes the loading of quantum gases in microtraps, coherent manipulation, and transport of condensates together with recently reported experiments on matter-wave interferometry on a chip. Theoretical approaches for describing atoms in waveguides and beam splitters are briefly summarized, and, finally, the interaction between atoms and the surface of microtraps is covered in some detail.
Abstract Ultracold atoms created using microtraps are being used in an increasing number of diverse applications. This paper reviews the double-loop microtrap which consists of two concentric circular wire loops carrying oppositely oriented currents. This generates a magnetic field configuration that traps a magnetic dipole in three-dimensions. The position of the trapped atoms relative to the atom chip surface containing the microwire loops, can be precisely controlled by applying different currents in the two loops or alternatively using a so called bias magnetic field oriented perpendicular to the chip surface. Double-loop microtraps can be daisy chained in series to create a one- or two-dimensional microtrap array. Experiments that have demonstrated a double-loop microtrap array are discussed. Future possibilities are presented as to how atoms can be transferred between adjacent microtraps as well as the use of an additional micro sized Ioffe coil to create a trap having a nonzero magnetic field minimum to reduce atom loss by suppressing Majorana transitions.
A novel kind of magnetic microtrap is demonstrated for ultracold neutral atoms. It consists of two concentric loops of radii r1r_1r1​ and r2r_2r2​ having oppositely oriented currents. A magnetic field minimum is generated in three dimensions that can be used to trap the atoms with a trap depth of about 1 mK using a current of 2.6 A. The condition r2/r1r_2/r_1r2​/r1​ = 2.2 maximizes the restoring force on the atoms toward the trap center. Unlike conventional magnetic microtraps, an external bias field is not required. Moreover, a one dimensional array of double-loop microtraps can be created by daisy chaining single microtrap circuits. \nA linear array of three microtraps having r1r_1r1​ = 300 mu\\mumum was fabricated as part of an atom chip. The following three techniques were developed to load the microtrap array: 1) atoms initially contained in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) were transported to the atom chip by a conventional magnetic trap, 2) atoms were first loaded into a mirror MOT and 3) atoms were initially loaded in a far off resonance optical dipole trap (FORT). Each technique loaded greater than 10510^5105 87^{87}87Rb atoms into the microtrap array. The lowest temperature of 30 mu\\mumuK for the microtrapped atom cloud was achieved using FORT loading. The strength and the position of the microtrap could be precisely adjusted over a range from 300 to 50 mu\\mumum above the atom chip surface by applying an external bias magnetic field. The lifetime of the atoms trapped in the microtrap array was measured to be 350 ms which was limited by the collisions with residual background gas.
The article reviews briefly the rapidly evolving field of so-called atom chips for neutral atoms. Emphasis is placed on magnetic microtraps – on-chip Ioffe-Prichard and dimple trap issue is covered in some detail. The experimental setup for cooling and trapping 87Rb atoms is also presented together with some early results of on-chip magnetic trapping. Full Text: PDF References J. Schmiedmayer, "Guiding and trapping a neutral atom on a wire", Phys. Rev. A 52, R13 (1995). CrossRef M. H. Anderson, J. R. Ensher, M. R. Matthews, C. E. Wieman, and E. A. Cornell, "Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Atomic Vapor", Science 269, 198 (1995). CrossRef K. B. Davis, M.-O. Mewes, M. R. Andrews, N. J. van Druten, D. S. Durfee, D. M. Kurn et al., "Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Gas of Sodium Atoms", Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3969 (1995). CrossRef J. D. Weinstein, K. G. Libbrecht, "Microscopic magnetic traps for neutral atoms", Phys. Rev. A 52, 4004 (1995). CrossRef D. Müller, D. Z. Anderson, R. J. Grow, P. D. D. Schwindt, and E. A. Cornell, "Guiding Neutral Atoms Around Curves with Lithographically Patterned Current-Carrying Wires", Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 5194 (1999). CrossRef N. H. Dekker, C. S. Lee, V. Lorent, J. H. Thywissen, S. P. Smith, M. Drndi et al., "Guiding Neutral Atoms on a Chip", Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1124 (2000). CrossRef J. Reichel, W. Hänsel, and T. W. Hänsch, "Atomic Micromanipulation with Magnetic Surface Traps", Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 3398 (1999). CrossRef D. Cassettari, B. Hessmo, R. Folman, T. Maier, and J. Schmiedmayer, "Beam Splitter for Guided Atoms", Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5483 (2000). CrossRef M. A. Cirone, A. Negretti, T. Calarco, P. Krüger, J. Schmiedmayer, "A simple quantum gate with atom chips", Eur. Phys. J. D 35, 165 (2005). CrossRef W. Hänsel, P. Hommelhoff, T. W. Hänsch, and J. Reichel, "Bose–Einstein condensation on a microelectronic chip", Nature 413, 498 (2001). CrossRef H. Ott, J. Fortagh, G. Schlotterbeck, A. Grossmann, and C. Zimmermann, "Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Surface Microtrap", Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 230401 (2001). CrossRef Y. Lin, I. Teper, C. Chin, V. Vuletić, "Impact of the Casimir-Polder Potential and Johnson Noise on Bose-Einstein Condensate Stability Near Surfaces", Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050404 (2004). CrossRef E. Salim, J. DeNatale, D. Farkas, K. Hudek, S. McBride, J. Michalchuk et al, "Compact, microchip-based systems for practical applications of ultracold atoms", Quantum Inf. Process. 10, 975 (2011). CrossRef S. Groth, Development, "Fabrication and Characterisation of Atom Chips", doctoral dissertation. (2006). R. Folman, P. Krüger, J. Schmiedmayer, J. Denschlag, C. Henkel, "Microscopic atom optics: From wires to an atom chip", Adv. At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 48, 263 (2002). CrossRef A. Arnold, Preparation and Manipulation of an 87Rb Bose-Einstein Condensate (University of Sussex 1999), PhD thesis. D. M. Farkas, K. M. Hudek, E. A. Salim, S. R. Segal, M. B. Squires, and D. Z. Anderson, "A compact, transportable, microchip-based system for high repetition rate production of Bose–Einstein condensates ", Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 093102 (2010). CrossRef K. Dieckmann, R. J. C. Spreeuw, M. Weidemüller, and J. T. M. Walraven, "Two-dimensional magneto-optical trap as a source of slow atoms", Phys. Rev. A 58, 3891 (1998). CrossRef W. Petrich, M. H. Anderson, J. R. Ensher, and E. A. Cornell, "Behavior of atoms in a compressed magneto-optical trap", J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 11, 1332 (1994). CrossRef
We report on a class of configurations of permanent magnets on an atom chip for producing 1D and 2D periodic arrays of magnetic microtraps with non-zero potential minima and variable barrier height for trapping and manipulating ultracold atoms and quantum degenerate gases. We present analytical expressions for an infinite magnetic lattice for the relevant physical quantities and compare them with our numerical results. In one of the configurations of permanent magnets, we show how it is possible by changing the angle between the crossed periodic arrays of magnets to go from a 1D array of 2D microtraps to a 2D array of 3D microtraps and thus to continuously vary the barrier heights between the microtraps.
This article reviews the development in our laboratory of magnetic lattices comprising periodic arrays of magnetic microtraps created by patterned magnetic films to trap periodic arrays of ultracold atoms. Recent achievements include the realisation of multiple Bose-Einstein condensates in a 10 micron-period one-dimensional magnetic lattice; the fabrication of sub-micron-period square and triangular magnetic lattice structures suitable for quantum tunnelling experiments; the trapping of ultracold atoms in a sub-micron-period triangular magnetic lattice; and a proposal to use long-range interacting Rydberg atoms to achieve spin-spin interactions between sites in a large-spacing magnetic lattice.