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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Atom interference in pulsed standing-wave fields

Andrey V. Turlapov, Dmitry Strekalov, Anantharaman Kumarakrishnan, Sydney B. Cahn, Tycho Sleator

Published Feb 25, 1999• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have studied suboptical wavelength atomic gratings, generated by the interference of atomic de Broglie waves in a time-domain interferometer. Three short optical standing- wave pulses, detuned from resonance with a cloud of approximately 100 (mu) K85 Rb atoms, act as phase gratings for atomic matter waves. The first two standing- wave pulses, separated by time T, produce a sequence of atomic density gratings of periods $lamda/4 at time 1.5T after the first pulse. The dependence of our signals on the time separation of the pulses is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. As far as we know, this is the first time when the formation of a high order matter-wave diffraction grating was observed in real time. This demonstrated ability to produce sub-wavelength structures makes our techniques applicable to atomic beam lithography.

DOI
10.1117/12.340124

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We have studied suboptical wavelength atomic gratings, generated by the interference of atomic de Broglie waves in a time-domain interferometer. Three short optical standing- wave pulses, detuned from resonance with a cloud of approximately 100 (mu) K85 Rb atoms, act as phase gratings for atomic matter waves. The first two standing- wave pulses, separated by time T, produce a sequence of atomic density gratings of periods $lamda/4 at time 1.5T after the first pulse. The dependence of our signals on the time separation of the pulses is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. As far as we know, this is the first time when the formation of a high order matter-wave diffraction grating was observed in real time. This demonstrated ability to produce sub-wavelength structures makes our techniques applicable to atomic beam lithography.
We have studied sub-optical wavelength atomic gratings generated by the interference of atomic de Broglie waves in a time-domain interferometer. Three short optical standing- wave pulses, detuned from resonance with a cloud of approximately 100 (mu) K 85Rb atoms, act as phase gratings for atomic matter waves. Shortly after the first pulse, a modulation in the atomic density containing spatial harmonics of period (lambda) /2N appears ((lambda) is the optical wavelength, and N is any integer) and then rapidly vanishes due to the atomic thermal motion. The cloud maintains phase memory of this modulation, however, and the second pulse (applied at time T after the first one) results in a temporal sequence of atomic density gratings of periods (lambda) /2N. The appearance of a grating is referred to as an echo. The third pulse (and a subsequent traveling wave pulse) is used to detect these gratings. By this technique, we have created and detected in real time a grating with period (lambda) /4 at time 1.5T after the first pulse and observed new types of `echoes' caused by interaction of the de Broglie waves with all three phase gratings. This ability to produce sub-wavelength structures makes our techniques applicable to atomic beam lithography.
We have demonstrated a method of generation and real-time detection of nanostructures in a cold Rb cloud. These structures, which are periodic gratings of atomic density, appear as a result of interference of atoms diffracted by pulses of an optical standing wave of wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}.$ We have detected structures of period $\ensuremath{\lambda}/2$ and $\ensuremath{\lambda}/4.$ Calculations indicate that these density gratings have period $\ensuremath{\lambda}/2N$ for integer N. While the structures with the period $\ensuremath{\lambda}/2$ are easily detected by Bragg scattering of an optical probe beam, the shorter-period structures are not. For their detection we have developed a three-pulse echo method, in which the shorter-period gratings get converted into the structures with period $\ensuremath{\lambda}/2,$ readily detected in real time. Applications related to lithography are discussed.
We have demonstrated an interferometer for atoms. A three-grating geometry is used, in which the interfering beams are distinctly separated in both position and momentum. We used a highly collimated beam of sodium atoms with a de Broglie wavelength of 16 pm and high-quality 0.4-\ensuremath{\mu}m-period free-standing gratings which we fabricated using a novel method. The interference signal is 70 counts/s, which allows us to determine the phase to 0.1 rad in 1 min. Applications of atom interferometers are briefly discussed.
We have demonstrated direct imaging of interference fringes of total atomic density with periods $\ensuremath{\lambda}∕4$ and $\ensuremath{\lambda}∕2$ for optical wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ that have been produced in a de Broglie wave atom interferometer. The imaging was done by means of an ``optical mask'' technique, which allowed us to observe subwavelength periodic patterns with a resolution of up to $\ensuremath{\lambda}∕16$. In addition, the dependence of the fringe pattern on the recoil phase and pulse area reveals quantum dynamics in the atomic center-of-mass motion. The behavior of the fringe patterns near the interference times distinguishes the effects of phase gratings from those of amplitude gratings.
Abstract : An atom interferometer is constructed in which the atom waves are physically separated prior to being recombined. Fabricated transmission gratings are used as optical elements for the matter waves. Atom interferometers should be useful in studies of atomic properties, tests of basic quantum physics, for metrology, as rotation sensors, and perhaps ultimately as devices to make ultra- small structures using atom holograms. During the last year our atom interferometer has evolved from a rough plan to an essentially complete device. At present all the major components of the interferometer have been built, and tested at least once. The system will be given its first real try in the next year. Our interferometer consists of three 0.2 microns - period diffraction gratings equally spaced approx. 0.65 m apart in our atomic beam machine. The maximum separation of the beams will be approx. 60 microns. The first two gratings separate and redirect the atomic beam forming a standing wave interference pattern in the atomic flux at the third grating, which acts like a mask to sample this pattern. A principle technical obstacle is the mechanical vibrations of our machine which will blur the interference pattern.