Atomic Interference in Standing Wave Fields
Abstract
The long-term goal of this project is to create nanostructures by passing a beam of atoms through two or more standing wave light fields. Following interaction with the standing wave fields, the atomic density contains all even spatial harmonics of the standing wave light field. At appropriate distances following the interaction with the light fields the different harmonics are focused, enabling one to isolate each of the harmonics. By transferring the atomic density spatial distribution to a surface, one can create pure harmonic gratings having periods as small as tens of nanometers. In addition to forming pure harmonic gratings, we are working on methods to effectively focus atoms with high resolution (spot size of order 15 nm) and high periodicity (of order 50 nm). Methods for probing the density patterns with nanometer resolution are being explored.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 13, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA414290
Entities
People
- P. R. Berman
- Tycho Sleator
Organizations
- University of Michigan