Localization of Metastable Atom Beams with Optical Standing Waves: Nanolithography at the Heisenberg Limit

Johnson, K. S.; Thywissen, Joseph H.; Dekker, Nynke H.; Berggren, Karl K.; Chu, A.; Younkin, R.; Prentiss, Mara

doi:10.1126/science.280.5369.1583

Cited by 275 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Again, because of the relatively large mass of atoms, these devices are uniquely sensitive to gravitational and inertial effects 58 . In addition to the inertial sensing aspects, Mara Prentiss at Harvard has a program under way to use atom interferometers as a new type of lithographic device for nanofabrication 59 .…”

Section: Atom Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution

Dowling

Milburn

2003

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Seri

799

609

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Abstract.We are currently in the midst of a second quantum revolution. The first quantum revolution gave us new rules that govern physical reality. The second quantum revolution will take these rules and use them to develop new technologies. In this review we discuss the principles upon which quantum technology is based and the tools required to develop it. We discuss a number of examples of research programs that could deliver quantum technologies in coming decades including; quantum information technology, quantum electromechanical systems, coherent quantum electronics, quantum optics and coherent matter technology.

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Section: Atom Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One application is to lithography, with the capability of creating neutral atom, matter-wave interferograms and holograms in order to write 2D and 3D patterns at the atomic level 59 . Another application is to inertial and gravitational sensors, where the atom wave is extraordinarily sensitive-due to its large mass compared to the photon.…”

Section: Atom Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution

Dowling

Milburn

2003

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Seri

799

609

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“…Our approach is an extension of incoherent nonlinear techniques used in atom lithography [9] and biological imaging [10]. The nonlinear saturation of EIT response that forms the basis of the present work has already been used for the realization of stationary pulses of light [11] and has been suggested for achieving subwavelength localization of an atom in a standing wave ( [12,13] and references therein).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coherent Quantum Optical Control with Subwavelength Resolution

et al. 2008

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We suggest a new method for quantum optical control with nanoscale resolution. Our method allows for coherent far-field manipulation of individual quantum systems with spatial selectivity that is not limited by the wavelength of radiation and can, in principle, approach a few nanometers. The selectivity is enabled by the nonlinear atomic response, under the conditions of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency, to a control beam with intensity vanishing at a certain location. Practical performance of this technique and its potential applications to quantum information science with cold atoms, ions, and solid-state qubits are discussed.PACS numbers: 32.80. Qk, 42.50.Gy, 03.67.Lx Coherent optical fields provide a powerful tool for coherent manipulation of a wide variety of quantum systems. Examples range from optical pumping, cooling, and quantum control of isolated atoms [1, 2] and ions [3] to manipulation of individual electronic and nuclear spins in solid state [4,5]. However, diffraction sets a fraction of the optical wavelength λ as the fundamental limit to the size of the focal spot of light [6]. This prohibits high-fidelity addressing of individual identical atoms if they are separated by a distance of order λ or less. In this Letter, we propose a method for coherent optical far-field manipulation of quantum systems with resolution that is not limited by the wavelength of radiation and can, in principle, approach a few nanometers.Our method for coherent sub-wavelength manipulation is based on the nonlinear atomic response produced by so-called dark resonances [7]. The main idea can be understood using the three-state model atom shown in Fig.

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“…The deBroglie wavelength of atoms is typically much less than an optical wavelength, potentially resulting in a much smaller diffraction-limited spot size. Additionally, fabrication operations are parallelizable; much work has focused on depositing multiple lines and dots of atoms by focusing from a standing light wave [8][9][10][11][12]. In addition, atom lithography is versatile in the sense that one may either directly write structures onto a substrate [13][14][15][16][17], or may pattern a resist prior to etching, as in traditional lithography, using a beam of metastable atoms [18].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanofabrication by magnetic focusing of supersonic beams

et al. 2010

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We present a new method for nanoscale atom lithography. We propose the use of a supersonic atomic beam, which provides an extremely high-brightness and cold source of fast atoms. The atoms are to be focused onto a substrate using a thin magnetic film, into which apertures with widths on the order of 100 nm have been etched. Focused spot sizes near or below 10 nm, with focal lengths on the order of 10 µm, are predicted. This scheme is applicable both to precision patterning of surfaces with metastable atomic beams and to direct deposition of material.Nanoscale fabrication is a critical tool for realizing much of modern technology, including information processing, biomedical research, and photonics [1][2][3]. Optical lithography, the current method for chip mass production, is used to produce many features in parallel, but has a limited resolution due to the wavelength of light used. Electron beam (e-beam) lithography, a method for producing much smaller (order of 1 nm) features, is a serial, rather than parallel, method, meaning that it is much more time-consuming than optical lithography. Ebeam, however, is frequently used to fabricate the masks that are required by the latter. Additional methods, using vacuum ultraviolet or X-ray radiation [4], or using focused ion beams [5], are being developed in an effort to achieve high-resolution and high-throughput nanofabrication.One area of great potential for nanofabrication is atom lithography [6,7]. The deBroglie wavelength of atoms is typically much less than an optical wavelength, potentially resulting in a much smaller diffraction-limited spot size. Additionally, fabrication operations are parallelizable; much work has focused on depositing multiple lines and dots of atoms by focusing from a standing light wave [8][9][10][11][12]. In addition, atom lithography is versatile in the sense that one may either directly write structures onto a substrate [13][14][15][16][17], or may pattern a resist prior to etching, as in traditional lithography, using a beam of metastable atoms [18]. The primary limitation of optical focusing is that it is difficult to focus some of the atoms without simultaneously defocusing others, leading to significant aberrations and an unwanted underlayer of material. A method of mitigating this effect was proposed [19] and demonstrated [20], but is challenging to implement in practice. Alternative approaches, such as focusing of atoms using macroscopic magnetic lenses [21] or an "atom pinhole camera" [22] have also been explored. All the above techniques have used effusive beams, limiting atomic density to around 10 10 atoms/cm 3 , and have achieved controlled feature sizes (at best) on the order of 100 nm.In this Letter, we propose a new approach to atom lithography that should enable much smaller feature sizes and larger throughput. Our method consists of magnetic focusing of a supersonic beam through a nanofabricated magnetic mask. As nearly all atoms are paramagnetic in either the ground state or an accessible metastable state, magnetic foc...

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Localization of Metastable Atom Beams with Optical Standing Waves: Nanolithography at the Heisenberg Limit

Cited by 275 publications

References 16 publications

Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution

Quantum technology: the second quantum revolution

Coherent Quantum Optical Control with Subwavelength Resolution

Nanofabrication by magnetic focusing of supersonic beams

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