Single beam atom sorting machine

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to create and control overlapping optical lattices with a single laser beam, enabling precise atom sorting and manipulation for quantum applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel setup using a spatial light modulator and feedback control to dynamically shift and sort atoms with high precision.

Findings

Achieved atom separation of 1.52 micrometers.

Demonstrated effective feedback compensation for intensity modulation.

Showed potential for single-atom trapping and sorting.

Abstract

We create two overlapping one-dimensional optical lattices using a single laser beam, a spatial light modulator and a high numerical aperture lens. These lattices have the potential to trap single atoms, and using the dynamic capabilities of the spatial light modulator may shift and sort atoms to a minimum atom-atom separation of $1.52 \mu$m. We show how a simple feedback circuit can compensate for the spatial light modulator's intensity modulation.