Planar Integrated Magneto Optical Trap

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel planar-integrated magneto-optical trap (MOT) that simplifies the traditional setup by using a flat optical grating and coil chip, reducing size and complexity for advanced quantum applications.

Contribution

The work presents the first implementation of a planar-integrated MOT combining optical grating and magnetic coil chips, enabling compact and efficient cold atom trapping.

Findings

Successfully trapped 10^4 ^87Rb atoms above the chip surface.

Reduced the volume, weight, and complexity of the MOT system.

Demonstrated potential for portable quantum devices.

Abstract

Abstract The magneto-optical trap (MOT) is an essential tool for collecting and preparing cold atoms with a wide range of applications. We demonstrate a planar-integrated MOT by combining an optical grating chip with a magnetic coil chip. The flat grating chip simplifies the conventional six-beam configuration down to a single laser beam; the flat coil chip replaces the conventional anti-Helmholtz coils of a cylindrical geometry. We trap 10^{4} cold ^{87}\text{Rb} atoms in the planar-integrated MOT, at a point 3-9 mm above the chip surface. This novel configuration effectively reduces the volume, weight, and complexity of the MOT, bringing benefits to applications including gravimeter, clock and quantum memory devices.