We report on experiments with cold thermal (7)Li atoms confined in combined magnetic and electric potentials. A novel type of three-dimensional trap was formed by modulating a magnetic guide using electrostatic fields. We observed atoms trapped in a string of up to six individual such traps, a controlled transport of an atomic cloud over a distance of 400 microm, and a dynamic splitting of a single trap into a double well potential. Applications for quantum information processing are discussed.

We present an omnidirectional matter waveguide on an atom chip. The guide is based on a combination of two current-carrying wires and a bias field pointing perpendicular to the chip surface. Thermal atoms are guided for more than two complete turns along a 25-mm-long spiral path (with curve radii as short as 200 microm) at various atom-surface distances (35-450 microm). An extension of the scheme for the guiding of Bose-Einstein condensates is outlined.

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and standing wave modes provide interesting and exotic properties for infrared metamaterial absorbers. Coupling of these modes promises further development in this field but restricted by the complexity of modes analysis. In this work, we investigate the general phenomenon of modes coupling supported by a metal (with grating)-dielectric-metal sandwich structure based on rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method and experiment results. Through the analysis of fundamental modes, a new approach based on the boundary conditions is introduced to reveal the coupling mechanism and the corresponding resonance shifting phenomenon with simple but rigorous derivations. The strong coupling between SPPs excited on the dielectric-metal interfaces and rigorous modes of standing waves in the dielectric layer can be manipulated to improve the detection sensitivity of sensors and emissivity efficiency of infrared emitters.

We present an omnidirectional matter wave guide on an atom chip. The rotational symmetry of the guide is maintained by a combination of two current carrying wires and a bias field pointing perpendicular to the chip surface. We demonstrate guiding of thermal atoms around more than two complete turns along a spiral shaped 25mm long curved path (curve radii down to 200µm) at various atom-surface distances (35-450µm). An extension of the scheme for the guiding of Bose-Einstein condensates is outlined.