Additively manufactured performance-optimized components for quantum technologies and beyond

Magneto-optical traps (MOT) are the starting points of many quantum technology systems and all cold atom experiments, such as atomic clocks, sensors, precision measurements, BEC experiments, and more. These extremely precise systems are often large and heavy, expensive, hard to operate by non-experts, frequent maintenance demanding, and are difficult to operate outside of laboratories due to their sensitivity to environmental conditions. Transferring these experiments to real-life applications requires the development of robust, lightweight, and affordable experimental components. We demonstrate the use of novel additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to produce portable, small, lightweight, and inexpensive modules for cold atom systems. We employ a compact and stable device for spectroscopy and optical power distribution, optimized neodymium magnetic rings for magnetic field generation, and a lightweight additively manufactured ultra-high vacuum chamber [1] to create a magneto-optical trap that captures ~2×10^{8 85}Rb atoms. Our chamber weighs less than 30% of a standard chamber, and our optical setup is only ~5% the volume of typical setups. Our experimental test results demonstrate that our AM-manufactured system is resistant to extreme environmental changes and as efficient and functional as conventional lab-based devices. We believe that our novel approach is a new standard that will be a basis for numerous applications in quantum technology areas and fundamental research.

 

[1] Cooper, N., Coles, L. A., Everton, S., Maskery, I., Campion, R. P., Madkhaly, S., ... & Hackermüller, L. (2021). Additively manufactured ultra-high vacuum chamber for portable quantum technologies. Additive Manufacturing, 101898.