This thesis describes atomic physics experiments performed using a microfabricated photonic waveguide chip: a device that enables the interaction of cold atoms with an array of 12 microscopic light beams emitted by optical waveguides, inside a microscopic trench that has been cut into the chip, across all of the waveguides. The chip uses standard cold-atom control techniques along with readily available photonics technologies to provide an integrated atomic physics device that is not ‘scalable’ so much as already scaled. We describe experiments where atoms are driven into the trench using magneto-optical traps and magnetic traps. In the latter case, the large, homogeneous magnetic field that is present during the atom-light interaction allows us to observe polarization-dependent effects in absorption signals from the trench. Vacuum difficulties have limited the efficiency of rf-driven evaporative cooling in our magnetic trap to 0.4 (with a final phase-space density of 2×10^-5). To circumvent this issue, we have developed a novel evaporative cooling process, in which a dimple potential, comprised of an optical trap and a magnetic trap, is used to perform cycles of isentropic trap deformation and selective atom removal. Using this cooling process increases our evaporative cooling efficiency to 1.2. Various other cooling strategies that involve the dimple are also investigated. Using the dimple, we achieve a phase-space density of 0.04. Having cooled the cloud using the dimple, we move it into the trench and measure absorption signals of 50%, much larger than those achieved previously. We investigate the possibility of producing microscopic optical dipole traps in the trench by sending red-detuned light through the waveguides, and show results of preliminary experiments looking at light shifts.
This thesis describes atomic physics experiments performed using a microfabricated photonic waveguide chip: a device that enables the interaction of cold atoms with an array of 12 microscopic light beams emitted by optical waveguides, inside a microscopic trench that has been cut into the chip, across all of the waveguides. The chip uses standard cold-atom control techniques along with readily available photonics technologies to provide an integrated atomic physics device that is not ‘scalable’ so much as already scaled. We describe experiments where atoms are driven into the trench using magneto-optical traps and magnetic traps. In the latter case, the large, homogeneous magnetic field that is present during the atom-light interaction allows us to observe polarization-dependent effects in absorption signals from the trench. Vacuum difficulties have limited the efficiency of rf-driven evaporative cooling in our magnetic trap to 0.4 (with a final phase-space density of 2×10^-5). To circumvent this issue, we have developed a novel evaporative cooling process, in which a dimple potential, comprised of an optical trap and a magnetic trap, is used to perform cycles of isentropic trap deformation and selective atom removal. Using this cooling process increases our evaporative cooling efficiency to 1.2. Various other cooling strategies that involve the dimple are also investigated. Using the dimple, we achieve a phase-space density of 0.04. Having cooled the cloud using the dimple, we move it into the trench and measure absorption signals of 50%, much larger than those achieved previously. We investigate the possibility of producing microscopic optical dipole traps in the trench by sending red-detuned light through the waveguides, and show results of preliminary experiments looking at light shifts.
This thesis reports on the development of novel techniques for the detection and manipulation of cold gases of neutral atoms. The research presented focusses on the implementation of a photonic waveguide chip into an atom optics experiment. Our photonic chip consists of 12 parallel waveguides with a 10 µm pitch and a 16 µm trench in the centre. A wire subchip underneath the photonic chip can create magnetic fields to guide atoms into the trench and hold them there. The electric field of the light mode propagating through the waveguides has a 1/e radius of 2:2 µm. This small light mode can readily be used for local measurements of the atomic density. This thesis describes the setup of the waveguide chip experiment and gives a detailed characterisation of the interaction between light and atoms in the trench. Additionally, I report on a scheme for detecting atoms while minimising the number of scattered photons for a given precision of the measurement. We use a light beam synthesized from two frequencies tuned to either side of the atomic resonance and detect the differential phase shift they acquire when passing through an atomic cloud by referencing the beat between the two frequencies to a local oscillator. Unlike most similar techniques our beam does not contain a carrier signal and can therefore be balanced around the atomic resonance in order to cancel the mean optical dipole force on the atoms.
This thesis introduces the first demonstration of a monolithic, micro-fabricated, multi-channel, optical-waveguide chip to measure ultra-cold atomic clouds. The optics consist of an array of 12 independent junctions, which are separated by only 10 μm and have large atom-photon coupling. The integrated and scalable design is presented, along with an atom chip for mounting the optical waveguide chip and magnetically trapping and handling ultra-cold atoms. The experimental apparatus which was built to accommodate this new chip set is described, along with a new experimental control programme which was developed to accommodate the scalability requirements of the new chip. The chip was optically, mechanically and magnetically characterised and cold atoms with densities up to 10-² μm-³, corresponding to 1 atom at a time inside the waveguide mode, were detected with this new kind of chip using absorption and fluorescence techniques. Subsequently, the atoms were utilised to diagnose light polarisation and intensity within the optical-waveguide chip. For future use, various detection methods adapted to the optical-waveguide chip were considered to minimise photon scattering and thus heating of a trapped ultra-cold sample of atoms.
We demonstrate efficient loading of neutral atoms into a magnetic waveguide produced by the magnetic fields of microfabricated current-carrying conductors. The lithographically patterned conductors on this ``atom chip'' can be used to make a variety of guiding and trapping structures for manipulating cold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates. A three-chamber vacuum apparatus collects atoms in a magneto-optical trap, precools them via evaporative cooling, and delivers them to the final chamber containing the atom chip. We describe in detail how the precooled atomic cloud is transferred from a macroscopic magnetic Ioffe-Pritchard trap to the microscopic magnetic waveguide on the atom chip 21cm away. Permanent magnets provide a confining two-dimensional quadrupole field to guide the atoms between the two chambers while longitudinally the cloud is allowed to freely expand during the transfer. Strategically placed coils are used to control the longitudinal size and speed of the atomic cloud as it is loaded on the atom chip.
This thesis describes and characterizes a setup to conduct experiments combining the fields of cold atoms and nanophotonics. Furthermore, a series of numerical simulations is employed to deepen of atom transport under experimentally realistic conditions. The study of cold atoms is usually fundamental in nature and a very clean approach to investigate the laws of physics. High purity samples of atoms are cooled down to millikelvins or microkelvins. The potential landscape for the atoms can be carefully controlled using lasers and/or magnetic fields. Since the atoms' responses to electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields are known with very high fidelity, any deviations to the state the atoms are prepared in can be precisely measured. Nanophotonics is the study of light close to or beyond the diffraction limit. In this region the field-like nature of light starts to play a role. By confining light in sub-wavelength-sized structures, high peak intensities can be achieved, giving rise to exciting non-linear optics phenomena. The strong field gradient that can be created allows, for instance, precise spectroscopy measurements, phase-sensitive sub-wavelength microscopy, as well as producing highly receptive sensing devices. Combining cold atoms and nanophotonics creates strong synergy effects. It gives access to strong coupling of light and matter. The scalability of nanophotonics now extends to atomic physics. Atoms can be trapped, coupled and manipulated at very small length scales, and in large numbers. Moreover, the potential landscape for atoms is highly customizable. The rubidium isotope 87 is used in this setup. A cloud of rubidium atoms is gathered and cooled in a two dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT). Since the atoms are only cooled in two dimensions, they are free to escape in the third dimension and load a following three dimensional MOT. The atoms are now cooled further, compressed and loaded into an optical dipole trap. This dipole trap transports the atoms close to a sample inside the vacuum chamber. A moving optical lattice, or optical conveyor belt, brings the atoms then close to the sample surface. Now experiments can be conducted, studying the interaction of cold atoms and strongly confined light. The atom transport down to the sample surface shows some unexpected behaviour: the atoms seem to spread through the optical lattice during transport. A combination of microscopic and macroscopic numerical simulations, including genetic algorithms, are used to deepen our understanding of the underlying physics. This also allows us to get access to experimental variables that cannot be directly obtained.
Atom optics has been a highly active field of research with many scientific breakthroughs over the past two decades, largely due to successful advances in laser technology, microfabrication techniques, and the development of laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms. This dissertation details several atom optics experiments with the motivation to develop tools and techniques for precision atom wave interferometry. It provides background information about atom optics and the fundamentals behind laser cooling and trapping, including basic techniques for cold gas thermometry and absorptive detection of atoms. A brief overview of magnetic trapping and guiding in tight wire-based traps is also provided before the experimental details are presented. ❧ We developed a novel laser source of 780 nm light using frequency-doubled 1560 nm fiber amplifier. This laser system provided up to a Watt of tunable frequency stabilized light for two Rb laser cooling and trapping experiments. One system generates Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical trap while the second is based on atom chip magnetic traps. The atom chip system, detailed in this thesis, was designed and built to develop the tools necessary for transport and loading large numbers of cold atoms and explore the potential for guided atom interferometry. Techniques and results from this experiment are presented, including an efficient magnetic transport and loading method to deliver cold atom to atom chip traps. We also developed a modeling tool for the magnetic fields formed by coiled wire geometries, as well as planar wire patterns. These models helped us design traps and determine adiabatic transportation of cold atoms between macro-scale traps and micro-traps formed on atom chips. Having achieved near unity transfer efficiency, we demonstrated that this approach promises to be a consistent method for loading large numbers of atoms into micro-traps. Furthermore, we discuss an in situ imaging technique to investigate magnetic field contours of the traps and the dynamics of atoms within those confining potentials. We also controlled the propagation along the atom chip guides by accelerating atoms with longitudinal magnetic gradients, and investigated an atom focusing scheme. ❧ While the atom chip wire guides perform a role analogous to optical fibers guiding light waves, ""free space"" cold atoms offer great opportunity for precision interferometry. We describe a second on-going atom optics experiment that measures gravity gradients using a pair of atom fountain interferometers separated by one meter. We have demonstrated Gravity Gradiometer resolution down to 4x10⁻⁹ g/m using a 40 kg test mass. The atomic physics subsystem is described in detail, including the vacuum, cold atom source, optics, magnetic coils and shields, and vibration isolation and compensation. The system is designed to be a compact, robust, transportable instrument, taking strides towards future gravity gradient measurements in the field. In the realm of space applications, there has been interest for micro-gravity science experiments aboard the International Space Station, along with instrument development for gravity mapping of Earth and planetary bodies with satellite-based instruments. Furthermore, there are ground-based applications for gravity imaging of local density distributions, precision measurement of gravity, as well as proposals for redefining the kilogram, detecting gravitational waves and determining the Gravitational constant.
Atom chips are an excellent tool for studying ultracold degenerate quantum gases, due to the high degree of controllability afforded by the precise potentials generated from the current-carrying microfabricated wires on the chip surface. The geometries of the trapping potentials are inherently capable of realising extreme aspect ratios, and therefore creating model systems with effectively reduced dimensionality, particularly the theoretically-tractable one-dimensional Bose gas. In addition, the temporal tunability makes it possible to impart non-adiabatic changes on the trapping potentials, allowing experimental investigation of samples which have been brought out of equilibrium - a situation which is not fully theoretically understood. This thesis describes the implementation, development and characterisation of an experimental system for producing the first Bose-Einstein condensates of atomic rubidium 87 gas trapped on the surface of an atom chip in Nottingham. Such an apparatus is very complex and requires careful characterisation in order to run in a stable and reliable way. Details of the experimental setup are thoroughly outlined, including the vacuum system, lasers, electronics, computer control and timing, and the optical imaging system. A newly installed compact two-dimensional magneto-optical trap provides an loading rate of 5e7 atoms per second for loading a three-dimensional mirror-magneto-optical trap with 1.5e8 atoms, at a temperature of 300uK within 10s. The cloud is then sub-Doppler cooled to 50uK, and spin-polarised with 96% purity into the |F=2,mF=+2> ground state within 5ms, in preparation for loading a purely magnetic trap. A millimeter sized copper Z-shaped conductor located beneath the atom chip surface creates a Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic trap, into which the laser cooled cloud is loaded with 70% efficiency, and can be held with a vacuum-limited lifetime of 40s. Evaporative cooling then pre-cools the sample to below 20uK within 10s, to allow the subsequent loading into potentials created by the atom chip with 100% efficiency. A final evaporation stage then cools the cloud below the phase transition temperature of 800nK, resulting finally in pure BECs with 105 atoms confined using the atom chip. Key measurements of various properties of the trapped condensates are presented, which are important in order to characterise the system fully, and to compare with theoretical expectations. In particular, included are the variation of condensate fraction with temperature, the BEC expansion dynamics, and the condensate lifetime in the trap, for example. Finally, it is demonstrated how BECs can be produced on the atom chip without the use of external macroscopic coils, achieved by using novel, integrated sheet structures located beneath the chip surface - unique to this experimental system - to create the necessary bias fields.