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Chinese Physics B

Compact magneto-optical traps using planar optics

Zhi 智 Tan 谭, Bo 博 Lu 鹿, Chengyin 成银 Han 韩, Chaohong Lee

Published Jul 9, 2024• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) composed of magnetic fields and light fields have been widely utilized to cool and confine microscopic particles. Practical technology applications require miniaturized MOTs. The advancement of planar optics has promoted the development of compact MOTs. In this article, we review the development of compact MOTs based on planar optics. First, we introduce the standard MOTs. We then introduce the grating MOTs with micron structures, which have been used to build cold atomic clocks, cold atomic interferometers, and ultra-cold sources. Further, we introduce the integrated MOTs based on nano-scale metasurfaces. These new compact MOTs greatly reduce volume and power consumption, and provide new opportunities for fundamental research and practical applications.

DOI
10.1088/1674-1056/ad607a

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Abstract Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) composed of magnetic fields and light fields have been widely utilized to cool and confine microscopic particles. Practical technology applications require miniaturized MOTs. The advancement of planar optics has promoted the development of compact MOTs. In this article, we review the development of compact MOTs based on planar optics. First, we introduce the standard MOTs. We then introduce the grating MOTs with micron structures, which have been used to build cold atomic clocks, cold atomic interferometers, and ultra-cold sources. Further, we introduce the integrated MOTs based on nano-scale metasurfaces. These new compact MOTs greatly reduce volume and power consumption, and provide new opportunities for fundamental research and practical applications.
Abstract Laser-cooled atoms are a key technology for many calibration-free measurement platforms—including clocks, gyroscopes, and gravimeters—and are a promising system for quantum networking and quantum computing. The optics and vacuum hardware required to prepare these gases are often bulky and not amenable to large-volume manufacturing, limiting the practical realization of devices benefiting from the properties of cold atoms. Planar, lithographically produced optics including photonic integrated circuits, optical metasurfaces (MSs), and gratings offer a pathway to develop chip-scale, manufacturable devices utilizing cold atoms. As a demonstration of this technology, we have realized laser cooling of atomic Rb in a grating-type magneto-optical trap (MOT) using planar optics for beam launching, beam shaping, and polarization control. Efficient use of available light is accomplished using MS-enabled beam shaping, and the performance of the planar optics MOT is competitive with Gaussian-beam illuminated grating MOTs.
Cold atoms produced in magneto-optical traps (MOTs) have underpinned advances in emerging quantum technologies, including quantum computing, precision metrology, and fundamental physics. Grating-based MOT (gMOT), which employs a reflective diffraction grating to enable laser cooling from a single incident beam, offers a compact alternative to conventional six-beam MOTs. However, the inherent asymmetry of gMOT beam geometry can compromise the trapping stability and efficiency, particularly for atomic species with complex internal level structures. Here, we present a geometric-phase dielectric metasurface that simultaneously engineers the transmitted and diffracted wavefronts with desired polarization states, enabling full MOT operation under axial illumination using a single planar optical element. This metasurface-based architecture restores the symmetry in the trapping forces while preserving the compactness and simplicity of gMOTs. Using this approach, we demonstrate the trapping and cooling of cesium─an atomic species widely regarded as challenging for standard gMOT implementations─and analyze the trapping mechanism through numerical calculations. By providing independent control over key trapping parameters within a planar and alignment-simplified platform, this work establishes a route toward compact, robust, and species-flexible cold-atom systems, thereby expanding the applicability of miniaturized MOTs for integrated quantum technologies.
The magneto-optical trap (MOT) is an essential tool for collecting and preparing cold atoms with a wide range of applications. We demonstrate a planar-integrated MOT by combining an optical grating chip with a magnetic coil chip. The flat grating chip simplifies the conventional six-beam configuration down to a single laser beam, and the flat coil chip replaces the conventional anti-Helmholtz coils of cylindrical geometry. Up to 106{10}^{6}106 cold 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms are trapped by the planar-integrated MOT, with the atom cloud being approximately 6mm6\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}6mm above the chip surface. This configuration effectively reduces the volume, weight, and complexity of the MOT, bringing benefits to applications including gravimeter, clock, and quantum memory devices.
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs), indispensable to cold-atom-based quantum computing and quantum precision measurement, are increasingly desired in compact and stable form. Particularly, the six-beam 3D-MOT, distinguished by symmetric geometry and superior trapping performance, finds particularly broad applications. Conventional implementations, however, rely on complex and bulky free-space optics, hindering miniaturization, practical assembly, and long-term stability. Here, we demonstrate a compact six-beam 3D-MOT system that employs two multifunctional optical metasurface chips to implement the optical-field functionalities required for cooling and trapping atoms. By combining two metasurface chips and a vacuum cell, a photonic-integrated cell module (PICM) is implemented as the core assembly and the volume is only" 73*73*107 mm^3" . In success, 1.3 * 10^3 Rb atoms are trapped and cooled to the temperature of ~183 μK. It should be noticed that the laser beam is guided to the metasurface through optical fiber, thus such fully fiber-coupled architecture enables straightforward and stable operations. We believe that this work would pave a practical route toward compact and portable 3D-MOT.
Compared with the conventional three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT), the grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) enables the cooling and trapping of atoms with only a single beam of light, thereby significantly reducing the overall volume of the device. Here, a grating chip with high diffraction efficiency is designed, and its parameters are optimized through simulations, which effectively suppresses the power of the zero-order diffracted light. Subsequently, the grating chip is fabricated and characterized, and using this chip, we successfully trap 1.7×106 atoms. The temperatures of the atomic cloud in the axial and radial directions are 5.6 mK and 17.0 mK, respectively. The successful implementation of the atom cooling and trapping experiment based on the diffraction grating provides important reference for the miniaturization of cold atom-based quantum sensors.