Guiding Neutral Atoms on a Chip

N. H. Dekker; C. S. Lee; V. Lorent; J. H. Thywissen; S. P. Smith; M. Drndić; R. M. Westervelt; M. Prentiss

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1124

Guiding Neutral Atoms on a Chip

N. H. Dekker, C. S. Lee, V. Lorent, J. H. Thywissen, S. P. Smith, M. Drndić, R. M. Westervelt, and M. Prentiss

Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1124 – Published 7 February 2000

Abstract

We demonstrate the guiding of neutral atoms by the magnetic fields due to microfabricated current-carrying wires on a chip. Atoms are guided along a magnetic field minimum parallel to and above the current-carrying wires. Two guide configurations are demonstrated: one using two wires with an external magnetic field, and a second using four wires without an external field. These guide geometries can be extended to integrated atom optics circuits, including beam splitters.

Received 16 August 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1124

Authors & Affiliations

N. H. Dekker¹, C. S. Lee^1,2, V. Lorent^1,*, J. H. Thywissen¹, S. P. Smith¹, M. Drndić^1,2, R. M. Westervelt^1,2, and M. Prentiss¹

¹Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
²Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138