Eur. Phys. J. D 35, 81-85 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00176-7

Reconfigurable atom chip on a transparent ferrite-garnet film

¹ Department of Engineering Physics and Mathematics, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 3500, FI-02015 TKK, Finland
² Department of Physics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway

Corresponding author: ^a antti.jaakkola@hut.fi

Received: 15 January 2005
Revised: 10 May 2005
Published online: 28 June 2005

Abstract

We introduce a new choice of material for the creation of microscopic magnetic potentials for the trapping and guiding of ultracold neutral atoms. The potentials are created above a ferrimagnetic, transparent (BiYTmGd)₃(FeGa)₅O₁₂ film by patterning the magnetic-domain structure in the film with a magneto-optical recording method. Patterns with linewidth down to 2 μm have been achieved, enabling trap frequencies of the order of 100 kHz for ⁸⁷Rb atoms in the state . The main advantages of the material are: 1) magnetic-field noise is suppressed due to the dielectricity of the material and the absence of electric currents, 2) trapped atoms can be addressed optically through the transparent film, and 3) the film can be repatterned, which enables different experiments with the same component.