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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Fabricating atom chips with femtosecond laser ablation

C H Wolff, S. Whitlock, R. M. Lowe, Andrei I. Sidorov, B. V. Hall

Published Apr 9, 2009• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the microfabrication of atom chips using a femtosecond laser ablation technique to arbitrarily sculpture both thin conductive metal films and permanent magnetic materials. We have measured the threshold fluences for a variety of materials relevant to atom chip development (Au, Ag, Cu, Cr, Ni, TbGdFeCo, SmCo, CoCr). The quality of the ablation process is investigated by extracting the power spectral density of the edge roughness from composite scanning electron microscope images and through the use of a magnetoresistance microscope to measure the associated magnetic field noise. Finally, we present results from a sculptured wire which produces an array of tunable double wells designed for near-surface force sensing with Bose-Einstein condensates.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/42/8/085301

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We report on the microfabrication of atom chips using a femtosecond laser ablation technique to arbitrarily sculpture both thin conductive metal films and permanent magnetic materials. We have measured the threshold fluences for a variety of materials relevant to atom chip development (Au, Ag, Cu, Cr, Ni, TbGdFeCo, SmCo, CoCr). The quality of the ablation process is investigated by extracting the power spectral density of the edge roughness from composite scanning electron microscope images and through the use of a magnetoresistance microscope to measure the associated magnetic field noise. Finally, we present results from a sculptured wire which produces an array of tunable double wells designed for near-surface force sensing with Bose-Einstein condensates.
Surface based geometries of microfabricated wires or patterned magnetic films can be used to magnetically trap and manipulate ultracold neutral atoms or Bose-Einstein condensates. We investigate the magnetic properties of such atom chips using a scanning magnetoresistive (MR) microscope with high spatial resolution and high field sensitivity. By comparing MR scans of a permanent magnetic atom chip to field profiles obtained using ultracold atoms, we show that MR sensors are ideally suited to observe small variations of the magnetic field caused by imperfections in the wires or magnetic materials which ultimately lead to fragmentation of ultracold atom clouds. Measurements are also provided for the magnetic field produced by a thin current-carrying wire with small geometric modulations along the edge. Comparisons of our measurements with a full numeric calculation of the current flow in the wire and the subsequent magnetic field show excellent agreement. Our results highlight the use of scanning MR microscopy as a convenient and powerful technique for precisely characterizing the magnetic fields produced near the surface of atom chips.
We report on the development of a new microfabrication technique for atom chips which is based on femtosecond laser ablation of thin films and allows the production of arbitrary patterns of microwires. We describe the ablation procedure and present the results of microwire quality analysis, which involves SEM imaging and magnetic field microscopy. We also discuss the designs of magnetic fields above the microwires using particular patterns of wire edges. Simulations of the magnetic fields are compared with the magnetic sensor measurements.
Atom chips are devices used to magnetically trap and manipulate ultracold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates near a surface. In particular, permanent magnetic film atom chips can allow very tight confinement and intricate magnetic field designs while circumventing technical current noise. Research described in this thesis is focused on the development of a magnetic film atom chip, the production of Bose-Einstein condensates near the film surface, the characterisation of the associated magnetic potentials using rf spectroscopy of ultracold atoms and the realisation of a precision sensor based on splitting Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential. The atom chip itself combines the edge of a perpendicularly magnetised GdTbFeCo film with a machined silver wire structure. A mirror magneto-optical trap collects up to 5 x 108 87Rb atoms beneath the chip surface. The current-carrying wires are then used to transfer the cloud of atoms to the magnetic film microtrap and radio frequency evaporative cooling is applied to produce Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of 1 x 105 atoms. We have identified small spatial magnetic field variations near the film surface that fragment the ultracold atom cloud. These variations originate from inhomogeneity in the film magnetisation and are characterised using a novel technique based on spatially resolved radio frequency spectroscopy of the atoms to map the magnetic field landscape over a large area. The observations agree with an analytic model for the spatial decay of random magnetic fields from the film surface. Bose-Einstein condensates in our unique potential landscape have been used as a precision sensor for potential gradients. We transfer the atoms to the central region of the chip which produces a double-well potential. A single BEC is formed far from the surface and is then dynamically split in two by moving the trap closer to the surface. After splitting, the population of atoms in each well is extremely sensitive to the asymmetry of the potential and can be used to sense tiny magnetic field gradients or changes in gravity on a small spatial scale.
Magnetic trapping potentials for atoms on atom chips are determined by the current flow in the chip wires. By modifying the shape of the conductor we can realize specialized current flow patterns and therefore microdesign the trapping potentials. We have demonstrated this by nano-machining an atom chip using the focused ion beam technique. We built a trap, a barrier, and using a Bose-Einstein Condensate as a probe we showed that by polishing the conductor edge the potential roughness on the selected wire can be reduced. Furthermore, we give different other designs and discuss the creation of a one-dimensional magnetic lattice on an atom chip.
We present a hybrid atom chip which combines a permanent magnetic film with a micromachined current-carrying structure used to realize a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). A novel TbGdFeCo material with large perpendicular magnetization has been tailored to allow small scale, stable magnetic potentials for ultracold atoms. We are able to produce 87 Rb BEC in a magnetic trap based on either the permanent magnetic film or the current-carrying structure. Using the condensate as a magnetic field probe we perform cold atom magnetometry to profile both the field magnitude and gradient as a function of distance from the magnetic film surface. Finally, we discuss future directions for our permanent magnetic film atom chip.