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Canadian Journal of Physics

An atom chip for the manipulation of ultracold atoms

Owen Cherry, J. D. Carter, J. D. D. Martin

Published Jun 1, 2009• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have fabricated an atom chip that magnetically traps laser cooled 87Rb by generating high magnetic-field gradients using micrometre scale current-carrying wires. The wires are fabricated on a Si wafer (with a 40 nm SiO2 layer) using 1.2 μm thick Au and a 20 nm thick adhesion layer, and are patterned with lift-off photolithography. We characterize the number and temperature of the cold atoms trapped by the chip.

DOI
10.1139/p09-043

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We have fabricated an atom chip that magnetically traps laser cooled 87Rb by generating high magnetic-field gradients using micrometre scale current-carrying wires. The wires are fabricated on a Si wafer (with a 40 nm SiO2 layer) using 1.2 μm thick Au and a 20 nm thick adhesion layer, and are patterned with lift-off photolithography. We characterize the number and temperature of the cold atoms trapped by the chip.
In this work, we report the development and characterization of an atom chip for magnetic trapping of cold 87Rb atoms. For fabrication of the atom chip, a silicon substrate was used after depositing an insulating layer of silica (SiO2) on it. An adhesive chromium layer was further deposited on this substrate before the deposition of the final layer of gold. On this gold coated substrate, a z-shaped gold wire (cross section, 500×2.5μm2) was fabricated by a photo-chemical machining method. The chip wire was tested for current–voltage characteristics for its reliable operation in magnetic trapping. The atoms from an U-magneto-optical trap, after optical pumping, were directly trapped in the magnetic trap of the atom chip.
An atom chip has been fabricated for the study of interactions between 87^{87}87Rb Rydberg atoms and a Au surface. The chip tightly confines cold atoms by generating high magnetic field gradients using microfabricated current-carrying wires. These trapped atoms may be excited to Rydberg states at well-defined atom-surface distances. For the purpose of Rydberg atom-surface interaction studies, the chip has a thermally evaporated Au surface layer, separated from the underlying trapping wires by a planarizing polyimide dielectric. Special attention was paid to the edge roughness of the trapping wires, the planarization of the polyimide, and the grain structure of the Au surface.
Atom chips are micro-fabricated devices which create versatile magnetic potentials for trapping, cooling and controlling ensembles of ultra-cold atoms. Advancing from the typical atom chips, currents from superconducting vortices are used to trap and manipulate the ultra-cold atoms in our experiments. The superconducting vortex traps can be configured by controlling strength and pulse time of external magnetic fields together with bias fields. In order to fully utilize reconfigurability, superconducting vortices are optically manipulated with laser light to generate desired vortex patterns with this tailored trapping potentials for ultra-cold atoms are created. We have carried out heat diffusion simulations of laser patterns and characterized laser power and pulse time to effectively configure the desired vortex potentials. We have also successfully manipulated vortex matter optically to create arbitrary vortex patterns and ring potentials for cold atoms to utilize in quantum simulations and on-chip matter wave interferometry applications. Moreover, cold atoms could be used as a sensitive probe to examine magnetic field distribution of the superconducting vortices and we have used this technique to experimentally verify the resulting magnetic potentials of superconducting vortices after optical manipulation. v First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my teacher and mentor, Prof.
We report on the loading and trapping of ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional permanent magnetic lattice of period 10 µm produced on an atom chip. The grooved structure which generates the magnetic lattice potential is fabricated on a silicon substrate and coated with a perpendicularly magnetized multilayered TbGdFeCo/Cr film of effective thickness 960 nm. Ultracold atoms are evaporatively cooled in a Z-wire magnetic trap and then adiabatically transferred to the magnetic lattice potential by applying an appropriate bias field. Under our experimental conditions trap frequencies of up to 90 kHz in the magnetic lattice are measured and the atoms are trapped at a distance of less than 5 µm from the surface with a measured lifetime of about 450 ms. These results are important in the context of studies of quantum coherence of neutral atoms in periodic magnetic potentials on an atom chip.
In order to take quantum mechanical systems out of the lab and produce practical devices, a method of miniaturizing and integrating apparatus components is needed. In the context of ultracold atomic gas experiments, the ideal method of achieving this miniaturization is the implementation of atom chip technology. By depositing micro-scale current carrying wires onto planar substrates, it is possible to create a magnetic trap capable of confining a cloud of neutral atoms in sufficient proximity to the chip surface for solid state devices to interact with the cloud. This thesis presents our lab’s first steps towards creating an atom chip capable of confining a cloud of rubidium-87. The chip prototypes were developed with the intent to incorporate them into the hybrid system apparatus within our lab. The chips are intended to serve as a platform for facilitating the interaction between the atomic gas ensemble and mesoscopic solid-state devices, allowing for the hybridization of the two systems. In this work I describe the design of the trapping wire configuration and the fabrication of the first two generations of chip prototypes. Additionally, I provide numerical simulations of the produced magnetic field, from which estimates of the trap frequency and depth can be calculated. Finally, I introduce some basic characterization tests of the absolute current limitations and resistive behavior of the chip wires, and the dimensional uniformity of the fabricated wire profiles.