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Science Advances

Low-SWaP magneto-optical trap enabled by planar photonic and magnetic components

Hao Gao, Yumeng Zhu, Zhilong Yu, Yuhui Hu, Zhelin Lin, Shiming Wei, Feng Zhao, Amit Kumar Agrawal, Zeyang Liu, Xiaochi Liu, Cheng Zhang

Published Aug 19, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient cold-atom systems are foundational for the development of deployable quantum technologies, yet their realization remains largely constrained due to reliance on bulky optical and magnetic components. Here, we demonstrate a record-low-SWaP (size, weight, and power) magneto-optical trap architecture seamlessly integrating planar photonic and magnetic components into a monolithic, scalable, and manufacturable platform. This is achieved by developing a multifunctional metasurface that converts a linearly-polarized Gaussian beam into a circularly-polarized flat-top beam (FTB), replacing conventional lens-waveplate assemblies. In parallel, a planar magnetic coil chip substitutes bulky anti-Helmholtz coils and generates the required quadrupole magnetic field with substantially reduced power consumption. Using D 2 line cooling of 87 Rb atoms, the fully planar system achieves nearly an order-of-magnitude improvement in trapped-atom number while operating at a fraction of the SWaP of traditional implementations. This planar integration strategy provides an energy-efficient and scalable pathway toward robust, deployable cold-atom platforms.

DOI
10.1126/sciadv.aeg0219

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Compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient cold-atom systems are foundational for the development of deployable quantum technologies, yet their realization remains largely constrained due to reliance on bulky optical and magnetic components. Here, we demonstrate a record-low-SWaP (size, weight, and power) magneto-optical trap architecture seamlessly integrating planar photonic and magnetic components into a monolithic, scalable, and manufacturable platform. This is achieved by developing a multifunctional metasurface that converts a linearly-polarized Gaussian beam into a circularly-polarized flat-top beam (FTB), replacing conventional lens-waveplate assemblies. In parallel, a planar magnetic coil chip substitutes bulky anti-Helmholtz coils and generates the required quadrupole magnetic field with substantially reduced power consumption. Using D 2 line cooling of 87 Rb atoms, the fully planar system achieves nearly an order-of-magnitude improvement in trapped-atom number while operating at a fraction of the SWaP of traditional implementations. This planar integration strategy provides an energy-efficient and scalable pathway toward robust, deployable cold-atom platforms.
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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.
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Abstract We present a compact cold atom platform where an optical grating chip and planar coil chip are placed inside a compact vacuum chamber to create a magneto-optical trap. This approach significantly reduces the system volume to about 20 × 20 × 20 cm3 compared to conventional vacuum systems and offers greater flexibility in accessing the trapped atoms. We demonstrate the trapping of 3 × 105 cold rubidium atoms at a temperature of 100 μK in a vacuum pressure below 10−7 mbar. The simplified optical geometry, low power consumption, and high degree of integration make this a promising platform for portable and versatile cold-atom devices in quantum sensing, timing, and information processing.
Abstract The planar-integrated magneto-optical trap (PIMOT) offers a promising platform for miniaturizing cold atom systems, but its performance and laser-power efficiency are limited by the typically Gaussian profile of the input laser beam. In this work, we present a simplified and cost-effective beam shaping solution to transform the Gaussian input into a flat-top intensity distribution using a compact system of four spherical lenses. The reshaped light field could potentially enhances PIMOT performance by improving the uniformity of the optical radiation pressure and increasing the trap distance from the chip surface. With this approach, we demonstrate a substantial reduction in the optical power required to trap 2.5 × 10 5 87 Rb atoms, down to 30% compared to a standard Gaussian beam input. Our results open the door to more efficient and flexible PIMOT systems for quantum sensing, metrology, and atom-based quantum technology.