Sending multiple messages on qubits encoded in different vibrational modes of cold atoms or ions along a transmission waveguide requires to merge first and then separate the modes at input and output ends. Similarly, different qubits can be stored in the modes of a trap and be separated later. We design the fast splitting of a harmonic trap into an asymmetric double well so that the initial ground vibrational state becomes the ground state of one of two final wells, and the initial first excited state becomes the ground state of the other well. This might be done adiabatically by slowly deforming the trap. We speed up the process by inverse engineering a double-function trap using dynamical invariants. The separation (demultiplexing) followed by an inversion of the asymmetric bias and then by the reverse process (multiplexing) provides a population inversion protocol based solely on trap reshaping. Introduction.-One of the main goals of atomic physics is to achieve an exhaustive control of atomic states and dynamics [1]. The ultra-cold domain is particularly suitable for this aim as it provides a rich scenario of quantum states and phenomena. Atom optics and atomtronics [2] intend to manipulate cold atoms in circuits and devices for applications in metrology, quantum information, or fundamental science. These devices are frequently inspired by electronics (e.g. the atom diode [3,4], the transistor [2], atom chips [5]), or optics (e.g. beam splitters [6], or multiplexing [7,8]).In this paper we shall focus on a cold-atom realization of multiplexing, a basic process in modern telecommunications. Multiplexing is the transmission of different messages via a single physical medium. A multiplexer combines signals from several emitters into a single medium whereas a demultiplexer performs the reverse operation. The concept of multiplexing is relevant for quantum information processing (for its use in quantum repeaters see [9,10], or for trapped ions [11]). We envision here optical or magnetic waveguides for atoms holding several transverse orthogonal modes [12][13][14][15]. If the qubit is encoded in the internal state of the atom, several qubits may be carried out simultaneously by different modes. To develop such a quantum-information architecture, fast mul-