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Physical Review A

Super-Gaussian mirror for high-field-seeking molecules

Guangjiong Dong, Sverker Edvadsson, Weiping Lu, P. F. Barker

Published Sep 29, 2005• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.72.031605

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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.
After a brief introduction to the field of atom optics and to atomic mirrors, we present experimental results obtained in our group during the last two years while studying the reflection of rubidium atoms by an evanescent wave. These involve the first measurement of the van der Waals force between an atom in its ground state and a dielectric wall, as well as the demonstration of a reflection grating for atoms at normal incidence. We also consider the influence of quantum reflection and tunnelling phenomena. Further studies using the atomic mirror as a probe of the van der Waals interaction, and of very small surface roughness are briefly discussed.
Summary form only given. Evanescent wave atomic mirrors have been shown to be very sensitive to the surface roughness of the glass substrate on which the evanescent wave is formed. Non-specular reflection of slow atoms at normal incidence has been observed for surface roughness as low as 0.1 nm. We interpret this behaviour in terms of diffraction of the atomic De Broglie wave on the modulated potential created by the interference of the evanescent wave with light scattered by the rough surface. However these experiments could not separate the specular peak of reflected atoms from the diffuse part. We have developed a new method to measure the velocity distribution of the atoms after the bounce with a much better resolution, using Raman transitions. Two phase locked counterpropagating laser beams induce a Raman transition between the ground state hyperfine levels of the /sup 85/Rb atoms falling from a magneto-optical trap. The resonance condition is only fulfilled for atoms with a transverse velocity controlled by the interaction time between the atoms and the beams. These velocity selected atoms bounce on the mirror and their velocity distribution after reflection can be measured using the same Raman beams, by scanning their difference in frequency.
An ultracold narrow atomic beam of metastable neon in the 1s3[(2s)(5)3p:1P0] state is used to study specular reflection of atoms from a solid surface at extremely slow incident velocity. The reflectivity on a silicon (1,0,0) surface and a BK7 glass surface is measured at the normal incident velocity between 1 mm/s and 3 cm/s. The reflectivity above 30% is observed at about 1 mm/s. The observed velocity dependence is explained semiquantitatively by the quantum reflection that is caused by the attractive Casimir-van der Waals potential of the atom-surface interaction.