We employ a combination of optical UV-and electron-beam-lithography to create an atom chip combining sub-micron wire structures with larger conventional wires on a single substrate. The new multi-layer fabrication enables crossed wire configurations, greatly enhancing the flexibility in designing potentials for ultra cold quantum gases and Bose-Einstein condensates. Large current densities of > 6×10 7 A/cm 2 and high voltages of up to 65 V across 0.3 µm gaps are supported by even the smallest wire structures. We experimentally demonstrate the flexibility of the next generation atom chip by producing Bose-Einstein condensates in magnetic traps created by a combination of wires involving all different fabrication methods and structure sizes.

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We report the realization of a robust magnetic transport scheme to bring > 3 × 10 8 ultracold 87 Rb atoms into a cryostat. The sequence starts with standard laser cooling and trapping of 87 Rb atoms, transporting first horizontally and then vertically through the radiation shields into a cryostat by a series of normal-and superconducting magnetic coils. Loading the atoms in a superconducting microtrap paves the way for studying the interaction of ultracold atoms with superconducting surfaces and quantum devices requiring cryogenic temperatures.

There is a steadily growing interest in non‐equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas for materials processing. One of the plasma sources developed for this purpose is the atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), which is characterized by an alpha‐mode of a radio‐frequency (RF) discharge between two bare metallic electrodes. We developed an APPJ with planar electrodes and operated the APPJ with helium/argon process gas mixtures ranging from pure helium to pure argon and characterized the discharges. The alpha‐discharge can be sustained in all process gas mixtures investigated. The sustainable electron density in the alpha‐mode increases steadily with increasing argon content.