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Physical Review A

Electrically controlled quantum reflection

A. Ronny Barnea, Benjamin A. Stickler, Ori Cheshnovsky, Klaus Hornberger, Uzi Even

Published Apr 27, 2017• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally that an electric field can be used to control quantum reflection of matter waves off periodically microstructured surfaces. Applying a voltage of alternating polarity between neighboring grating bars induces an electric field which modifies the interaction between the surface and the impinging matter wave so that quantum reflection is gradually reduced. We find that the measured reflectivities are in good agreement with our numerical simulations and that their suppression is well captured by a simple analytic model. This experiment constitutes a step towards electrically tuned reflective diffraction elements for atomic and molecular matter waves.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.043639

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We demonstrate experimentally that an electric field can be used to control quantum reflection of matter waves off periodically microstructured surfaces. Applying a voltage of alternating polarity between neighboring grating bars induces an electric field which modifies the interaction between the surface and the impinging matter wave so that quantum reflection is gradually reduced. We find that the measured reflectivities are in good agreement with our numerical simulations and that their suppression is well captured by a simple analytic model. This experiment constitutes a step towards electrically tuned reflective diffraction elements for atomic and molecular matter waves.
Abstract Among the fundamental quantum effects, quantum reflection (QR) is one of the most notable phenomena. Approximating arbitrary potentials in the Schrödinger equation as multistep potentials allows us to determine the reflection coefficient by means of a Riccati equation. We introduce a measure for the wave function's characteristic reflection distance and derive an analytical expression for this reflection point in an arbitrary power-law potential. We study the associated QR rate in the context of Casimir-Polder atom surface interactions, revealing its strong dependence on critical parameters such as velocity and interaction duration. As an application, we demonstrate how the matter-wave diffraction of a low-velocity metastable argon beam impinging on a rotated grating facilitates high-precision potential analysis.
We theoretically demonstrate that an external magnetic field can be used to control quantum reflection of matter waves in graphene due to its extraordinary magneto-optical properties. We calculate the quantum reflection probabilities in graphene for three experimentally relevant atomic species (He, Na, and Rb) using the full Casimir-Polder potential computed by the Lifshitz formula valid at all distance regimes, going beyond the traditional approach to quantum reflection, based on power-law potentials, which are known to be valid only in the short-distance (nonretarded van der Waals) or in the large-distance (retarded) regimes. We predict the energy range for which quantum reflection is more likely to occur as a function of the magnetic field and show that the quantum reflection probabilities exhibit discontinuities that reflect the structure of Landau levels in graphene. Altogether our findings suggest an alternative way to control quantum reflection at the nanoscale and pave the way for the design of alternative, magnetically tuned reflective diffraction elements for matter waves.
Since de Broglie's work on the wave nature of particles, various optical phenomena have been observed with matter waves of atoms and molecules. However, the analogy between classical and atom/molecule optics is not exact because of different dispersion relations. In addition, according to de Broglie's formula, different combinations of particle mass and velocity can give the same de Broglie wavelength. As a result, even for identical wavelengths, different molecular properties such as electric polarizabilities, Casimir-Polder forces, and dissociation energies modify (and potentially suppress) the resulting matter-wave optical phenomena such as diffraction intensities or interference effects. We report on the universal behavior observed in matter-wave diffraction of He atoms and He2 and D2 molecules from a ruled grating. Clear evidence for emerging beam resonances is observed in the diffraction patterns, which are quantitatively the same for all three particles and only depend on the de Broglie wavelength. A model, combining secondary scattering and quantum reflection, permits us to trace the observed universal behavior back to the peculiar principles of quantum reflection.
We observe high-resolution diffraction patterns of a thermal-energy helium atom beam reflected from a microstructured surface grating at grazing incidence. The grating consists of $10\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$-wide Cr strips patterned on a quartz substrate and has a periodicity of $20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. Fully resolved diffraction peaks up to the seventh order are observed at grazing angles up to 20mrad20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mrad}20mrad. With changes in de Broglie wavelength or grazing angle the relative diffraction intensities show significant variations which shed light on the nature of the atom-surface interaction potential. The observations are explained in terms of quantum reflection at the long-range attractive Casimir--van der Waals potential.