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Journal of Applied Physics

Development and characterization of atom chip for magnetic trapping of atoms

Vivek Singh, Vibhuti Bhushan Tiwari, A. Chaudhary, Rahul Shukla, Chandrachur Mukherjee, Satya Ram Mishra

Published Feb 22, 2023• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1063/5.0130749

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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.
Atom chips are robust and extremely powerful toolboxes for quantum optical experiments, since they make it possible to create exceedingly precise magnetic traps for neutral atoms with minimal field modulations. Accurate manipulation of trapped atoms is feasible with magnetic and electric fields created on the atom chip. Therefore atom chips with high quality surfaces and extremely well defined wires were build (roughness < 20nm). Furthermore new generations of atom chips were developed, like the multi-layer atom chip with contact-free wire crossings, the sub-micron structured atom chip and the semiconducting atom chip. Extensive characterisation measurements of atom chip wires demonstrated that the wires stand current densities of up to 10^7A/cm^2 for seconds and voltage differences of more than 500V over 10µm. From the different materials tested doped silicon with a thin silicon dioxide layer is the best qualified substrate for atom chip fabrication. The atom chips fabricated during this thesis have been used in many successful experiments, yielding numerous results. Moreover this thesis established the basics for many further experiments in atom physics and quantum optics and delivers complete instructions for the fabrication of all developed atom chips as well as an introduction to the experiments.
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.
This study describes the design and fabrication of transparent atom chips for atomic physics experiments. A fabrication process was developed to define the wire patterns on a transparent glass substrate to create the desired magnetic field for atom trapping experiments. An area on the chip was reserved for the optical access, so that the laser light can penetrate directly through the glass substrate for the laser cooling process. Furthermore, since the thermal conductivity of the glass substrate is poorer than other common materials for atom chip substrate, for example silicon, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride. Thus, heat dissipation copper blocks are designed on the front and back of the glass substrate to improve the electrical current conduction. The testing results showed that a maximum burnout current of 2 A was measured from the wire pattern (with a width of 100 μm and a height of 20 μm) without any heat dissipation design and it can increase to 2.5 A with a heat dissipation design on the front side of the atom chips. Therefore, heat dissipation copper blocks were designed and fabricated on the back of the glass substrate just under the wire patterns which increases the maximum burnout current to 4.5 A. Moreover, a maximum burnout current of 6 A was achieved when the entire backside glass substrate was recessed and a thicker copper block was electroplated, which meets most requirements of atomic physics experiments.
The role of U-wire generated quadrupole-like magnetic field profile on loading of cold 87Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) on atom-chip has been investigated. It is shown by simulations that the quadrupole field profile and the centre of the quadrupole field vary depending upon the U-wire current and bias field values. Moreover, the resemblance of generated field profile to the ideal quadrupole field critically depends on the values of current in U-wire and bias magnetic field. The observed number of trapped atoms in the MOT and its position has also been found to depend on the quadrupole field profile. The number of trapped atoms in the MOT reaches maximum when the field profile approaches close to an ideal quadrupole field. These studies are, in general, useful in optimizing the number in the MOT before transfer of these cold atoms to the microtraps of an atom-chip.