We have measured the trapping lifetime of magnetically trapped atoms in a cryogenic atom-chip experiment. An ultracold atomic cloud is kept at a fixed distance from a thin gold layer deposited on top of a superconducting trapping wire. The lifetime is studied as a function of the distances to the surface and to the wire. Different regimes are observed, where loss rate is determined either by the technical current noise in the wire or the Johnson-Nyquist noise in the metallic gold layer, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Far from the surface, we observe exceptionally long trapping times for an atom-chip, in the 10-minutes range.
We investigate the behaviour of electric fields originating from adsorbates deposited on a cryogenic atom chip as it is cooled from room temperature to cryogenic temperature. Using Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency we measure the field strength versus distance from a 1 mm square of YBCO patterned onto a YSZ chip substrate. We find a localized and stable dipole field at room temperature and attribute it to a saturated layer of chemically adsorbed rubidium atoms on the YBCO. As the chip is cooled towards 83 K we observe a change in sign of the electric field as well as a transitio…
Three dimensional electrodynamic trapping of neutral atoms has been demonstrated. By applying time-varying inhomogeneous electric fields with micron-sized electrodes, nearly $10^2$ strontium atoms in the $^1S_0$ state have been trapped with a lifetime of 80 ms. In order to design the electrodes, we numerically analyzed the electric field and simulated atomic trajectories in the trap, which showed reasonable agreement with the experiment.
In the last years, it was demonstrated that neutral molecules can be loaded on a microchip directly from a supersonic beam. The molecules are confined in microscopic traps that can be moved smoothly over the surface of the chip. Once the molecules are trapped, they can be decelerated to a standstill, for instance, or pumped into selected quantum states by laser light or microwaves. Molecules are detected on the chip by time-resolved spatial imaging, which allows for the study of the distribution in the phase space of the molecular ensemble.
We report the trapping of ultracold 87Rb atoms in a 0.7 micron-period 2D triangular magnetic lattice on an atom chip. The magnetic lattice is created by a lithographically patterned magnetic Co/Pd multilayer film plus bias fields. Rubidium atoms in the F=1, mF=-1 low-field seeking state are trapped at estimated distances down to about 100 nm from the chip surface and with calculated mean trapping frequencies as high as 800 kHz. The measured lifetimes of the atoms trapped in the magnetic lattice are in the range 0.4 - 1.7 ms, depending on distance from the chip surface. Model calculations sugge…
We demonstrate the possibility of trapping about one hundred million rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap with several of the beams passing through a transparent atom chip mounted on a vacuum cell wall. The chip is made of a gold microcircuit deposited on a silicon carbide substrate, with favorable thermal conductivity. We show how a retro-reflected configuration can efficiently address the chip birefringence issues, allowing atom trapping at arbitrary distances from the chip. We also demonstrate detection through the chip, granting a large numerical aperture. This configuration is compare…
A microstructured array of over 1200 electrodes on a substrate has been configured to generate an array of local minima of electric field strength with a periodicity of $120 μ$m about $25 μ$m above the substrate. By applying sinusoidally varying potentials to the electrodes, these minima can be made to move smoothly along the array. Polar molecules in low field seeking quantum states can be trapped in these traveling potential wells. This is experimentally demonstrated by transporting metastable CO molecules in 30 mK deep wells that move at constant velocities above the substrate.
We report on the trapping of single Rb atoms in tunable arrays of optical tweezers in a cryogenic environment at $\sim 4$ K. We describe the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, based on a custom-made, UHV compatible, closed-cycle cryostat with optical access. We demonstrate the trapping of single atoms in cryogenic arrays of optical tweezers, with lifetimes in excess of $\sim6000$ s, despite the fact that the vacuum system has not been baked out. These results open the way to large arrays of single atoms with extended coherence, for applications in large-scale quantum simula…
Hybrid quantum systems that unite laser-cooled trapped ions and ultracold quantum gases in a single experimental setup have opened a rapidly advancing field of study, including Quantum chemistry, polaron physics, quantum information processing and quantum simulations. We present a fully developed and tested ion trap chip and propose a flat chip trap that can be placed beneath the ion trap. This design substantially addresses the difficulties specific to hybrid traps and features well-aligned chips that allow for independent adjustment of the depth of the atomic trap and the confinement and pos…
Superconducting atom chips have very significant advantages in realizing trapping structures for ultracold atoms compared to conventional atom chips. We extend these advantages further by developing the ability to dynamically tailor the superconducting trap architecture. Heating the chosen parts of a superconducting film by transferring optical images onto its surface we are able to modify the current density distribution and create desired trapping potentials. This method enables us to change the shape and structure of magnetic traps, enabling versatile applications in atomtronics.
Beams of helium atoms in Rydberg-Stark states with principal quantum number $n=48$ and electric dipole moments of 4600~D have been decelerated from a mean initial longitudinal speed of 2000~m/s to zero velocity in the laboratory-fixed frame-of-reference in the continuously moving electric traps of a transmission-line decelerator. In this process accelerations up to $-1.3\times10^{7}$~m/s$^2$ were applied, and changes in kinetic energy of $ΔE_{\mathrm{kin}}=1.3\times10^{-20}$~J ($ΔE_{\mathrm{kin}}/e = 83$~meV) per atom were achieved. Guided and decelerated atoms, and those confined in stationar…
We demonstrate a novel atom chip trapping system that allows the placement and high-resolution imaging of ultracold atoms within microns from any <100 um-thin, UHV-compatible material, while also allowing sample exchange with minimal experimental downtime. The sample is not connected to the atom chip, allowing rapid exchange without perturbing the atom chip or laser cooling apparatus. Exchange of the sample and retrapping of atoms has been performed within a week turnaround, limited only by chamber baking. Moreover, the decoupling of sample and atom chip provides the ability to independently t…
Metastable (1s)(2s) $^3{\rm S}_1$ helium atoms produced in a supersonic beam were excited to Rydberg-Stark states (with $n$ in the $27-30$ range) in a cryogenic environment and subsequently decelerated by, and trapped above, a surface-electrode decelerator. In the trapping experiments, the Rydberg atoms were brought to rest in 75~$μ$s and over a distance of 33~mm and kept stationary for times $t_{\mathrm{trap}}$ in the $0-525$~$μ$s range, before being re-accelerated for detection by pulsed field ionization. The use of a home-built valve producing short gas pulses with a duration of about 20~$μ…
We have produced a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) on an atom chip using only superconducting wires in a cryogenic environment. We observe the onset of condensation for 10^4 atoms at a temperature of 100 nK. This result opens the way for studies of atom losses and decoherence in a BEC interacting with a superconducting surface. Studies of dipole-blockade with long-lived Rydberg atoms in a small and dense atomic sample are underway.
Cryogenic environments benefit ion trapping experiments by offering lower motional heating rates, collision energies, and an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment for maintaining long ion chains for extended periods of time. Mechanical vibrations caused by compressors in closed-cycle cryostats can introduce relative motion between the ion and the wavefronts of lasers used to manipulate the ions. Here, we present a novel ion trapping system where a commercial low-vibration closed-cycle cryostat is used in a custom monolithic enclosure. We measure mechanical vibrations of the sample stage using an…
We have integrated magneto-optical traps (MOTs) into an atom chip by etching pyramids into a silicon wafer. These have been used to trap atoms on the chip, directly from a room temperature vapor of rubidium. This new atom trapping method provides a simple way to integrate several atom sources on the same chip. It represents a substantial advance in atom chip technology and offers new possibilities for atom chip applications such as integrated single atom or photon sources and molecules on a chip.
We report the sympathetic cooling and Coulomb crystallization of molecular ions above the surface of an ion-trap chip. N$_2^+$ and CaH$^+$ ions were confined in a surface-electrode radiofrequency ion trap and cooled by the interaction with laser-cooled Ca$^{+}$ ions to secular translational temperatures in the millikelvin range. The configuration of trapping potentials generated by the surface electrodes enabled the formation of planar bicomponent Coulomb crystals and the spatial separation of the molecular from the atomic ions on the chip. The structural and thermal properties of the Coulomb …
We report on the realisation of a chip-based multipole ion trap manufactured using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. It provides ion confinement in an almost field-free volume between two planes of radiofrequency electrodes, deposited on glass substrates, which allows for optical access to the trap. An analytical model of the effective trapping potential is presented and compared with numerical calculations. Stable trapping of argon ions is achieved and a lifetime of 16s is measured. Electrostatic charging of the chip surfaces is studied and found to agree with a numerical est…
The physics of superconducting films, and especially the role of remnant magnetization has a defining influence on the magnetic fields used to hold and manipulate atoms on superconducting atomchips. We magnetically trap ultracold ^{87}Rb atoms on a 200μm wide and 500nm thick cryogenically cooled niobium Z wire structure. By measuring the distance of the atomcloud to the trapping wire for different transport currents and bias fields, we probe the trapping characteristics of the niobium superconducting structure. At distances closer than the trapping wire width, we observe a different behaviour …
In this work we consider the advantages and challenges of using free-standing two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) as active components in atom chips for manipulating ultracold ensembles of alkali atoms. We calculate trapping parameters achievable with typical high-mobility 2DEGs in an atom chip configuration, and identify advantages of this system for trapping atoms at sub-micron distances from the atom chip. We show how the sensitivity of atomic gases to magnetic field inhomogeneity can be exploited for controlling the atoms with quantum electronic devices and, conversely, using the atoms t…
We present the implementation of tailored trapping potentials for ultracold gases on an atom chip. We realize highly elongated traps with box-like confinement along the long, axial direction combined with conventional harmonic confinement along the two radial directions. The design, fabrication and characterization of the atom chip and the box traps is described. We load ultracold ($\lesssim1 μ$K) clouds of $^{87}$Rb in a box trap, and demonstrate Bose-gas focusing as a means to characterize these atomic clouds in arbitrarily shaped potentials. Our results show that box-like axial potentials o…
We discuss design considerations and the realization of a magnetic double-well potential on an atom chip using current-carrying wires. Stability requirements for the trapping potential lead to a typical size of order microns for such a device. We also present experiments using the device to manipulate cold, trapped atoms.
We describe the fabrication and construction of a setup for creating lattices of magnetic microtraps for ultracold atoms on an atom chip. The lattice is defined by lithographic patterning of a permanent magnetic film. Patterned magnetic-film atom chips enable a large variety of trapping geometries over a wide range of length scales. We demonstrate an atom chip with a lattice constant of 10 $μ$m, suitable for experiments in quantum information science employing the interaction between atoms in highly-excited Rydberg energy levels. The active trapping region contains lattice regions with square …
Two-dimensional crystals of trapped ions are a promising system with which to implement quantum simulations of challenging problems such as spin frustration. Here, we present a design for a surface-electrode elliptical ion trap which produces a 2-D ion crystal and is amenable to microfabrication, which would enable higher simulated coupling rates, as well as interactions based on magnetic forces generated by on-chip currents. Working in an 11 K cryogenic environment, we experimentally verify to within 5% a numerical model of the structure of ion crystals in the trap. We also explore the possib…
We propose to apply atom-chip techniques to the trapping of a single atom in a circular Rydberg state. The small size of microfabricated structures will allow for trap geometries with microwave cut-off frequencies high enough to inhibit the spontaneous emission of the Rydberg atom, paving the way to complete control of both external and internal degrees of freedom over very long times. Trapping is achieved using carefully designed electric fields, created by a simple pattern of electrodes. We show that it is possible to excite, and then trap, one and only one Rydberg atom from a cloud of groun…
We demonstrate a simple stacked scheme that enables absorption imaging through a hole in the surface of a grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) chip, placed immediately below a micro-fabricated vacuum cell. The imaging scheme is capable of overcoming the reduced optical access and surface scatter that is associated with this chip-scale platform, while further permitting both trapping and imaging of the atoms from a single incident laser beam. The through-hole imaging is used to characterise the impact of the reduced optical overlap volume of the GMOT in the chip-scale cell, with an outlook to an…
A high-resolution projection and imaging system for ultracold atoms is implemented using a compound silicon and glass atom chip. The atom chip is metalized to enable magnetic trapping while glass regions enable high numerical aperture optical access to atoms residing in the magnetic trap about 100 microns below the chip surface. The atom chip serves as a wall of the vacuum system, which enables the use of commercial microscope components for projection and imaging. Holographically generated light patterns are used to optically slice a cigar-shaped magnetic trap into separate regions; this has …
Fluorescence and Relaxation Dynamics of Cesium in Argon Matrices: Multiple Trapping Sites and Host-Guest Interactions
Université Paris-Saclay（巴黎萨克雷大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；Laboratoire Aimé Cotton（阿梅·科顿实验室）；Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay（奥赛分子科学研究所）；Laboratoire Cimap（CIMAP实验室）；Université de Normandie Caen（诺曼底卡昂大学）；École supérieure d’ingénieures de Caen（卡昂高等工程师学院）；Commissariat à l’énergie atomique（法国原子能和替代能源委员会）；Indian Institute Of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali（印度Mohali科学教育研究学院）
We evaluate the impact that nonlinear Zeeman shifts have on resonant radio-frequency (RF) dressed traps in an atom-chip configuration. The degeneracy of the resonance between Zeeman levels is lifted at large intensities of a static field, modifying the spatial dependence of the atomic adiabatic potential. In this context, we find effects that are important for the next generation of atom chips with tight trapping: in particular, that the vibrational frequency of the atom trap is sensitive to the RF frequency and, depending on the sign of the Landé factor, can produce significantly weaker, or t…
We study trapping of a cold atom by a single vortex line in an extreme type II superconducting chip, allowing for pinning and friction. We evaluate the atom's spin flip rate and its dephasing due to the vortex fluctuations in equilibrium and find that they decay rapidly when the distance to the vortex exceeds the magnetic penetration length. We find that there are special spin orientations, depending on the spin location relative to the vortex, at which spin dephasing is considerably reduced while perpendicular directions have a reduced spin flip rate. We also show that the vortex must be perp…
Atom chips made of superconducting material can generate magnetic traps with significantly reduced noise. Recently, several designs for superconducting chips have been theoretically analyzed and experimentally tested, for cases with many vortices considered as an average vortex density. Here we show theoretically, for the first time, how the magnetic field of a $\it single$ vortex, pinned by a superconducting nano-disc of radius $\sim$100 nm and combined with an external bias field parallel to the disc surface, yields a closed 3D trap for cold atoms. The size of the trap, and its height above …
We analyze evanescent fields of laser written waveguides and show that they can be used to trap atoms close to the surface of an integrated optical atom chip. In contrast to subwavelength nanofibres it is generally not possible to create a stable trapping potential using only the fundamental modes. This is why we create a stable trapping potential by using two different laser colors, such that the waveguide supports two modes for the blue detuned laser, while for the red detuned light the waveguide has only a single mode. In particular, we study such a two-color trap for Cesium atoms, and calc…
We present the use of direct bonded copper (DBC) for the straightforward fabrication of high power atom chips. Atom chips using DBC have several benefits: excellent copper/substrate adhesion, high purity, thick (> 100 microns) copper layers, high substrate thermal conductivity, high aspect ratio wires, the potential for rapid (< 8 hr) fabrication, and three dimensional atom chip structures. Two mask options for DBC atom chip fabrication are presented, as well as two methods for etching wire patterns into the copper layer. The wire aspect ratio that optimizes the magnetic field gradient as a fu…
A cryogenic neutral-atom platform with full optical access and 2-hour trap lifetime
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik（马克斯·普朗克量子光学研究所）；Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München（慕尼黑大学物理学院）；Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology（慕尼黑量子科学与技术中心）
Cryogenic source of atomic tritium for neutrino-mass measurements and precision spectroscopy
University of Turku（图尔库大学）；Sorbonne Université（索邦大学）；ENS-PSL Université（巴黎文理研究大学）；Collège de France（法兰西公学院）；Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin（马克斯·冯·劳厄-保罗·朗之万研究所）；Marietta Blau Institute for Particle Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences（奥地利科学院玛丽亚·布劳粒子物理研究所）；Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, ETH（苏黎世联邦理工学院粒子物理与天体物理研究所）；Institute for Astroparticle Physics (IAP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)（卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院亚原子物理研究所）
