Modelling the diffraction of laser-cooled atoms from magnetic gratings

Abhishek Bhardwaj, Aishik Acharya

Timothy J. Davis

Anton P. Vyalykh, P. I. Skakunenko, M. V. Shishova +5 more

The possibility of using an atom chip and a diffraction grating to form a compact magneto-optical trap for ytterbium atoms, which can be used to develop compact atomic interferometers and optical clocks based on ultracold atoms, has been studied. An experiment on the laser cooling of the 171Yb and 174Yb isotopes in a first‑stage magneto-optical trap has been carried out to determine initial requirements for the mentioned elements. The design of the atom chip forming a magnetic field gradient up to 60 G/cm has been calculated. The optimal configurations of the diffraction grating that allow forming both the first- and second-stage magneto-optical traps have been evaluated.

Joseph P. Cotter, J. P. McGilligan, Paul F. Griffin +5 more

It has recently been shown that optical reflection gratings fabricated directly into an atom chip provide a simple and effective way to trap and cool substantial clouds of atoms (Nshii et al. in Nat Nanotechnol 8:321-324, 2013; McGilligan et al. in Opt Express 23(7):8948-8959, 2015). In this article, we describe how the gratings are designed and microfabricated and we characterise their optical properties, which determine their effectiveness as a cold atom source. We use simple scalar diffraction theory to understand how the morphology of the gratings determines the power in the diffracted beams.

David H. McIntyre, Shannon K. Mayer, N.J. Silva

We have developed a rubidium atomic funnel for use as a matter-wave source in experiments in atom interferometry and atom optics. The funnel utilizes the techniques of laser cooling and trapping to produce a low-velocity beam of cold rubidium atoms. Atoms from a thermal beam are first slowed in a tapered magnetic field using 1D Zeeman slowing. The atoms are then loaded into a 2D magneto-optic trap or atomic funnel. The trap cools and compresses the atoms, which are then ejected from the trap by moving molasses formed with frequency-shifted laser beams. These slow atoms will be diffracted by microfabricated transmission gratings as part of a three-grating atom interferometer.

Frank Strauch, V. Gomer, Harald Schadwinkel +3 more