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Physical Review Letters

Microstructured Switchable Mirror for Polar Molecules

Stephan A. Schulz, Hendrick L. Bethlem, Jacqueline van Veldhoven, Jochen Küpper, Horst Conrad, Gerard Meijer

Published Jul 9, 2004• 43 citations
Publisher

Abstract

By miniaturizing electrode geometries high electric fields can be produced using modest voltages. A planar array of $20\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ wide gold electrodes, spaced $20\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ apart, is made on a sapphire substrate. A voltage difference of up to 350 V is applied to adjacent electrodes, generating an electric field that decreases exponentially with distance from the substrate. This microstructured array can be used as a mirror for polar molecules and can be rapidly switched on and off. This is demonstrated by retro\penalty1000\-\allowhyphens{}reflecting a beam of state-selected ammonia molecules with a forward velocity of about $30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.93.020406

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By miniaturizing electrode geometries high electric fields can be produced using modest voltages. A planar array of 20 \ensuremathμm20\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}20 \ensuremathμm wide gold electrodes, spaced 20 \ensuremathμm20\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}20 \ensuremathμm apart, is made on a sapphire substrate. A voltage difference of up to 350 V is applied to adjacent electrodes, generating an electric field that decreases exponentially with distance from the substrate. This microstructured array can be used as a mirror for polar molecules and can be rapidly switched on and off. This is demonstrated by retro\penalty1000-\allowhyphens{}reflecting a beam of state-selected ammonia molecules with a forward velocity of about 30  m/s30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}30  m/s.
Focusing optics for neutral molecules finds application in shaping and steering molecular beams. Here we present an electrostatic elliptical mirror for polar molecules consisting of an array of microstructured gold electrodes deposited on a glass substrate. Alternating positive and negative voltages applied to the electrodes create a repulsive potential for molecules in low-field-seeking states. The equipotential lines are parallel to the substrate surface, which is bent in an elliptical shape. The mirror is characterized by focusing a beam of metastable CO molecules and the results are compared to the outcome of trajectory simulations.
Focusing optics for neutral molecules finds application in shaping and steering molecular beams. Here we present an electrostatic elliptical mirror for polar molecules consisting of an array of microstructured gold electrodes deposited on a glass substrate. Alternating positive and negative voltages applied to the electrodes create a repulsive potential for molecules in low-field-seeking states. The equipotential lines are parallel to the substrate surface, which is bent in an elliptical shape. The mirror is characterized by focusing a beam of metastable CO molecules and the results are compared to the outcome of trajectory simulations.
A microstructured array of 1254 electrodes on a substrate has been configured to generate an array of local minima of electric field strength with a periodicity of 120 μm about 25 μm above the substrate. By applying sinusoidally varying potentials to the electrodes, these minima can be made to move smoothly along the array. Polar molecules in low-field seeking quantum states can be trapped in these traveling potential wells. Recently, we experimentally demonstrated this by transporting metastable CO molecules at constant velocities above the substrate (Meek et al 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 153003). Here, we outline and experimentally demonstrate how this microstructured array can be used to decelerate polar molecules directly from a molecular beam. For this, the sinusoidally varying potentials need to be switched on when the molecules arrive above the chip, their frequency needs to be chirped down in time and they need to be switched off before the molecules leave the chip again. Deceleration of metastable CO molecules from an initial velocity of 360 m s -1 to a final velocity as low as 240 m s -1 is demonstrated in the 15–35 mK deep potential wells above the 5 cm long array of electrodes. This corresponds to a deceleration of almost 10 5 g , and about 85 cm -1 of kinetic energy is removed from the metastable CO molecules in this process.
An electrostatic mirror for neutral polar molecules has been constructed using an array of electrodes of alternating polarity between which a high potential was applied. This configuration produces an exponentially evanescing electric field that interacts with polar molecules by the Stark effect. The spatial gradients of the Stark energies produce forces which were used to reflect a pulsed beam of chloromethane (CH 3 Cl) molecules with a reflectivity of 25% at grazing angles of incidence of around 5 mrad. Reflections have also been produced with applied voltages as low as 100 V or with grazing angles greater than 20 mrad. This type of device could be useful for the manipulation of slow molecular beams and would permit the construction of optical elements for the de Broglie waves of molecules.
A microstructured array of over 1200 electrodes on a substrate has been configured to generate an array of local minima of electric field strength with a periodicity of 120 microm about 25 microm above the substrate. By applying sinusoidally varying potentials to the electrodes, these minima can be made to move smoothly along the array. Polar molecules in low field seeking quantum states can be trapped in these traveling potential wells. This is experimentally demonstrated by transporting metastable CO molecules in 30 mK deep wells that move at constant velocities above the substrate.
A Stark decelerator is an effective tool for controlling motional degrees of freedom of polar molecules. Due to technical limitations, many of the current Stark decelerators focus on molecules in low-field-seeking quantum states and are built based on a fixed electrode size and spacing (type-A architecture). Here, we present an alternative method based on a different architecture, so-called type-B, with microstructured electrodes and a simpler electric field pulse timing with the prospect of producing cold, quasi-CW molecular beams. We demonstrate with simulations the feasibility of this method and show that a 2 cm decelerator consisting of 100 stages can bring molecules from 200 m/s to a near standstill in about 150 microseconds. Subsequently, the molecules can be reaccelerated to 200 m/s in a phase-stable manner. Our simulations focus on the longitudinal transmission leaving the problem of a transverse confinement for a future study. This work points to a possible way of integrating polar molecule accelerators with solid-state electronics.