Atom Chips - Integrated Circuits for Nanoscale Manipulation of Cold Atoms

原子芯片 - 用于冷原子纳米级操控的集成电路

基本信息

批准号：
EP/E043631/1
负责人：
Edward Hinds
金额：
$ 136.34万
依托单位：
Imperial College London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2007
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2007 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FE043631%2F1
关键词：
Atom Chips Integrated Circuits Nanoscale

项目摘要

Atom chips consist of small electric, magnetic and optical structures microfabricated on silicon or silica substrates. Magnetic electric or optical forces produced by the chip are used to manipulate low temperature atom clouds, typically at one microKelvin or below. The number of atoms in the cloud can be adjusted, ranging typically from ten thousand all the way down to just one atom. The clouds can be moved in a controlled way from one part of the chip to another and the distance from the surface can be adjusted as needed to any desired value in the range 1-100 microns. The atoms can be split and recombined by manipulating the shape of the confining potentials in order to perform interferometry. They can also be moved in and out of high-finesse optical cavities, allowing the coupling of atoms to photons, or indeed the coupling of a single atom to a single photon. All this has been developed over the last few years by a few groups throughout the world, with particular strength being in Europe as a result of European Networks and strong national funding. The UK has been among the leaders in this field, supported over the last four years by the Basic Technology project Atom Chips: integrated circuits for nanoscale manipulation of cold atoms . Taken all together, this toolbox of elementary operations amounts to the embryo of a new technology in which the microscopic control of atoms and their interactions with each other and with photons can perform useful functions. Quantum mechanics is at the heart of this technology because the atomic de Broglie wavelength is comparable with the trap sizes used and often the atoms are in the quantum ground state of their motion. Sometimes the whole ensemble of atoms is in its many-body quantum ground state (BEC) and sometimes we are using single atoms or single photons. So far, this new capability to harness quantum mechanics has been confined to demonstration experiments in highly specialised laser laboratories such as the Centre for Cold Matter at Imperial College. Now we propose to move to a new phase of development. We will explore how combinations of these basic operations can be integrated on a single chip into systems robust enough to perform useful functions. This phase of the research is a natural sequel to the Basic Technology Atom Chips project because it is the necessary step that can allow the new basic technology to make contact with the commercial world. This is also a high-risk phase, which can only proceed if our technical capability is safely underpinned by a grant such as this Translation Grant. Specific atom chip devices that we will explore include clocks, accelerometers, interferometers, magnetometers, single photon sources, quantum information processors and molecule traps. When particularly promising designs emerge from this exploration, we will seek more specific support to commercialise them.

原子芯片由在硅或二氧化硅基底上微加工的小型电、磁和光学结构组成。芯片产生的磁力或光力用于操纵低温原子云，通常为一微开尔文或更低。云中的原子数量是可以调整的，范围通常从一万一直到只有一个原子。云可以以受控的方式从芯片的一个部分移动到另一部分，并且可以根据需要将与表面的距离调整为 1-100 微米范围内的任何所需值。通过操纵限制势的形状可以分裂和重新组合原子以进行干涉测量。它们还可以移入和移出高精度光学腔，从而允许原子与光子耦合，或者实际上是单个原子与单个光子的耦合。所有这些都是在过去几年中由世界各地的一些团体开发的，由于欧洲网络和强大的国家资金，欧洲的力量尤其强大。英国一直是该领域的领导者之一，过去四年得到基础技术项目原子芯片的支持：用于冷原子纳米级操纵的集成电路。总而言之，这个基本运算工具箱相当于一项新技术的雏形，其中原子的微观控制及其彼此之间以及与光子的相互作用可以执行有用的功能。量子力学是这项技术的核心，因为原子德布罗意波长与所使用的陷阱尺寸相当，而且原子通常处于其运动的量子基态。有时，整个原子集合处于多体量子基态（BEC），有时我们使用单个原子或单个光子。到目前为止，这种利用量子力学的新能力仅限于高度专业化的激光实验室（例如帝国理工学院冷物质中心）的演示实验。现在我们提出要进入新的发展阶段。我们将探索如何将这些基本操作的组合集成在单个芯片上，形成足够强大的系统来执行有用的功能。这一阶段的研究是基础技术原子芯片项目的自然延续，因为这是新的基础技术与商业世界接触的必要步骤。这也是一个高风险阶段，只有在我们的技术能力得到像翻译补助金这样的补助金的安全支持的情况下，这个阶段才能继续进行。我们将探索的具体原子芯片设备包括时钟、加速计、干涉仪、磁力计、单光子源、量子信息处理器和分子陷阱。当这种探索中出现特别有前途的设计时，我们将寻求更具体的支持以将其商业化。