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Physical Review A

Nanometer definition of atomic beams with masks of light

Roland Abfalterer, Claudia Keller, Stefan Bernet, Markus K. Oberthaler, Jörg Schmiedmayer, Anton Zeilinger

Published Dec 1, 1997• 56 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We build amplitude, i.e., absorptive masks, for neutral atoms using light, reversing the roles of light and atoms as compared to conventional optics. These masks can be used both to create and to probe spatially well-defined atomic distributions. The resolution of these masks can be significantly better than the optical wavelength. Applications range from atom lithography to fundamental atom optical experiments.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.56.r4365

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We build amplitude, i.e., absorptive masks, for neutral atoms using light, reversing the roles of light and atoms as compared to conventional optics. These masks can be used both to create and to probe spatially well-defined atomic distributions. The resolution of these masks can be significantly better than the optical wavelength. Applications range from atom lithography to fundamental atom optical experiments.
We demonstrate periodic localization of neutral atoms of better than 65 nm behind amplitude, i.e., absorptive masks made of light. With these masks, produced by a standing on resonant light wave, it is possible to create and to probe spatially well-defined atomic distributions. Applications of such absorptive masks range from atom lithography to fundamental atom optical experiments. As two examples we show how to use these gratings as a tool to measure the evolution of an atomic wave field behind a static Bragg crystal and its dependence on the incidence angle of the atomic beam and how to demonstrate the frequency shift of atoms diffracted at a modulated Bragg crystal in a beating experiment.
Summary form only given.Efficient methods to prepare and measure atomic distributions with nanometer resolution are of particular interest in atom optics and for possible applications in science and technology. A versatile and particularly useful tool is absorptive masks, which can be used both to write and to probe fine structures. We combine the advantages of absorptive masks with the flexibility of light structures. We report the realization of well-defined absorptive masks at nanometer resolution for neutral atoms, which are entirely made of light.
We report the designs and the fabrication of optical intensity masks which enable trapping of two-dimensional arrays of cooled atoms of two atomic species, using single laser. Compared to previous realizations using active optical components, e.g., spatial light modulators, these passive optical masks reduce the complexity of neutral-atom experiments. The optical intensity masks are easily scalable to enable the trapping of large arrays of single atoms, enabling future applications in quantum sensing, networking, and computing.
The long range goal of this project was the creation of nanostructures using light fields to manipulate atoms. By passing an atomic beam through one or more standing wave light fields, it is possible to create modulations in the atomic density having periods which are a fraction of the period of the standing wave light fields. Patterns having periods as small as lambda/10 were observed using optical masks and clear evidence for matter-wave effects were established. Several theoretical methods for achieving sub-lambda matter wave patterns were developed, Moreover it was shown that it is possible to create optical lattices having reduced periodicity using Raman transitions in a novel atom-field geometry Experiments were carried out in both magneto-optical traps and atomic beams. In both experimental set-ups, pulsed standing wave optical fields were used to excite the atoms. At some later time the atoms were probed by a traveling wave field, revealing the spatial patterns that had evolved as a result of the atom-field interaction.
Slow neutral beams of metal atoms can be manipulated using the intensity gradient of near-resonant light-fields enabling the deposition of atoms onto a substrate in a processes often referred to an atom lithography. A suitably shaped light-field gradient is used to control the path of metal atoms using the dipole force created by the interaction between atoms and the strong, near-resonant optical intensity gradient. Relatively simple patterns such as lines and dots have been created using optical standing waves while more complex light-fields might be created using computer generated optical elements to manipulate the laser beam.