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Phys. Rev. A 79, 043403 (2009) [11 pages]

Trapping cold atoms using surface-grown carbon nanotubes

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P. G. Petrov1,*, S. Machluf1, S. Younis1,2, R. Macaluso1,2, T. David1, B. Hadad2, Y. Japha1, M. Keil1,†, E. Joselevich3, and R. Folman1
1Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University, Be’er Sheva 84105, Israel
2The Weiss Family Laboratory for Nano-Scale Systems, Ben-Gurion University, Be’er Sheva 84105, Israel
3Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Received 18 December 2008; revised 5 February 2009; published 1 April 2009

We present a feasibility study for loading cold atomic clouds into magnetic traps created by single-wall carbon nanotubes grown directly onto dielectric surfaces. We show that atoms may be captured for experimentally sustainable nanotube currents, generating trapped clouds whose densities and lifetimes are sufficient to enable detection by simple imaging methods. This opens the way for a different type of conductor to be used in atomchips, enabling atom trapping at submicron distances, with implications for both fundamental studies and for technological applications.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.79.043403
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevA.79.043403
PACS:
37.10.Gh, 42.50.Ct, 73.63.Fg, 12.20.−m

*Present address: Centre for Cold Matter, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, U.K.

†Corresponding author; keil@bgu.ac.il

 
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