On-chip optical lattice for cold atom experiments

Abstract

An atom-chip-based integrated optical lattice system for cold and ultracold atom applications is presented. The retroreflection optics necessary for forming the lattice are bonded directly to the atom chip, enabling a compact and robust on-chip optical lattice system. After achieving Bose-Einstein condensation in a magnetic chip trap, we load atoms directly into a vertically oriented 1D optical lattice and demonstrate Landau-Zener tunneling. The atom chip technology presented here can be readily extended to higher dimensional optical lattices.

Fifteen years of cold matter on the atom chip: promise, realizations, and prospects

“…Optical standing waves generated by counter-propagating lasers are most commonly used. Optical lattices are a very mature technology ([ 223 ] and references therein) and have even become a commercial product for atom chips [ 224 ] (Section 6.3 ). Plasmons have been suggested as an enabling technology for lattices that would allow sub-optical wavelength resolution [ 225 ] (Figure 14 (a-c)).…”

“…Alternatively, magnetic potentials from the atom chip may be used to prepare and transport atoms and, in particular, to bring them close to the surface for initial loading into an optical lattice integrated into the atom chip (Section 6.3 ). Although these proof-of-principle experiments [ 223 , 299 ] do not state the atom-surface distances achieved, they may in the near future enable precision measurements of atom-surface interactions and other short-range forces.…”

“…(c) Schematic illustration of the vertically-oriented 1D lattice used to demonstrate Landau-Zener tunnelling. Adapted from [ 223 ], with permission from the Optical Society of America.…”

Experimental Demonstration of Shaken-Lattice Interferometry

“…We trap 87 Rb atoms in the |F, m F = |2, 2 state on an atom chip and cool them to degeneracy via forced RF evaporation. Similar atom chip-based systems have been used to build compact optical lattice systems [21] and study atomtronics [22]. The condensed atoms are loaded into the ground Bloch state [23] of a red-detuned optical lattice with a depth V 0 ≈ 14E r , where the recoil energy is E r =h 2 k 2 L /2m for an atom mass m and a lattice wavenumber k L = 2π/λ L .…”

Optical quantum memory based on electromagnetically induced transparency

“…Therefore, we expect one of the research trends in EIT quantum memory to focus on the implementation of compact and scalable functioning devices with atom-on-chip, solid state or fiber devices being good candidates. The technology of atom-on-chip began in 2001 [180, 181] and has been used for implementing BECs [182], optical lattices [183], atomic clocks [184] and magnetometers [185], all of which demonstrate the potential to implement chip-scale EIT quantum memory. Solid state is another promising solution to realize compact and scalable EIT quantum memories.…”