The Review of Laser Engineering

Development of Optical Engineering. Atom Guidance with Optical Near Field.

Haruhiko Ito, Motoichi Ohtsu

Published Jan 1, 1997• 0 citations

Abstract

Optical near field realizes the precise control of atomic motion .As the first step, guiding of atoms through micron-sized hollow optical fiber is demonstrated .The two-step laser-photoionization spectroscopy shows the frequency dispersion properties of dipole interaction between atoms and optical near field .The species-and state-selective guidance is applied to in-line spatial separation of two stable Rb isotopes .In addition, the cavity QED (Quantum Electrodynamics) effect inside a dielectric cylinder is observed for the first time.The atom fiber has the faculty of carrying atoms to an arbitrary point over a long distance and then is useful as a novel scheme of optically controlled atomic deposition.The feasibility of creating dot-shaped nano-scale structures is illustrated through measurement of spatial distribution of the guided atom flux .Finally, a method of manipulating atoms beyond the diffraction limit of light waves is presented including sharpened optical fibers and an atomic funnel with optical near field.

DOI: 10.2184/lsj.25.682

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