Cold atoms in your pocket -Enabling technologies-

Abstract

This thesis details the work carried out in the development towards a fully miniaturised integrated atom chip. The main focus of the project so far has been on the construction of miniaturised vacuum chambers, the study of the eutectic bond and the manufacturing of integrated electric feedthroughs, together with the development of new cold atom trap geometries.

Current cold atom technologies rely on the use of bulky optical systems and large vacuum chambers. We propose the miniaturisation of the entire system into a device comparable in size with a match box. Afirst step towards this goal is the miniaturisation of the vacuum system and atomic source. In the first part of this thesis we present planar microfabrication techniques, such as anodic bonding and eutectic bonding, as a solution for providing hermetic seals. Several partially working devices i.e miniaturised vacuum chambers with rubidium atom sources are presented and compared to commercial rubidium cells. As ultimately our integrated atom chips will be used in metrology and sensing devices, they require current-carrying wires within the vacuum. Towards this purpose we propose a method of building hermetically sealed electrical feedthroughs through the process of glass reflow in thick silicon substrates. The second part of this thesis outlines a brief theory towards cooling atoms, together with new geometries designed for use with miniaturised devices and the attempts of achieving a functional integrated atom chip. Finally, we present the development of a new method for achieving a cold atom source without the use of magnetic fields.

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