Single-beam laser cooling and magnetic trapping using a nano-structured atom chip

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are interesting sources for a wide range of research areas due to their unique quantum properties. They are typically created using evaporative cooling in high frequency atomic traps. In particular, atom chips have proven their ability to create BECs very efficiently, even in challenging environmental conditions such as sounding rockets or the international space station. With the recent realization of grating magneto-optical traps (gMOTs), an exciting route to further improve such devices has opened: Since all required MOT beams are generated by diffraction from the grating, a single input beam suffices which promises greater long-term stability at reduced complexity.

We present the implementation of a nano-structured atom chip with results on magneto-optical trapping, sub-Doppler cooling, and magnetic trapping. These results pave the way towards a compact single-beam BEC apparatus for general use and transportable applications.