Fundamental principles, key enabling technologies, and research progress of atom chips
Fundamental principles, key enabling technologies, and research progress of atom chips
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DOI：
10.7498/aps.70.20201561
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发表时间：
2021-01-20
影响因子：
1
通讯作者：
Zhang Jian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Li Mo;Chen Fei-Liang;Zhang Jian
激光冷却、捕获和操纵中性原子已经成为科学家的宝贵工具，为探索现实的本质提供了创新的方法，并在精确测量和量子信息处理领域产生了变革性的设备。与传统的复杂、笨重的原子实验设备不同，原子芯片通过设计、制造表面图案微结构，并将器件集成在基板上，可以以低功耗精确控制微纳米尺度的磁场、电场或光场。它可以实现强捕获和相干原子操纵。自20年前原子芯片被首次提出以来，它已经建立了一个强大的量子平台，用于将量子光学和原子物理工具小型化并集成在芯片上。本文首先简要回顾了原子芯片的发展历史，然后介绍了基于片上载流导线的微势阱和微导的基本知识。然后，详细讨论了原子芯片的材料、设计、制造、表征和集成等关键技术。我们不仅关注目前最活跃和最成功的领域——载电流导线，而且还关注更有远见的方法，比如用真正的纳米结构操纵原子，比如碳纳米管。讨论了理想原子芯片的设计和制作原理。第四部分总结了世界范围内涉及原子芯片技术的计划和研究项目，表明许多国家都将其视为一项重要的基础技术。接着介绍了原子钟、原子干涉仪、陀螺仪、冷原子重力仪等应用领域的主要进展。最后，指出了原子芯片在实际应用中面临的挑战，并对其后续发展进行了展望。
The laser cooling, trapping and manipulating of neutral atoms has become a valuable tool for scientists, providing innovative ways to probe the nature of reality and giving rise to transformative devices in the fields of precise measurement and quantum information processing. Unlike traditional complex and bulky atomic experimental facilities, atom chips, through the design, fabrication of surface-patterned microstructures, and the integration of devices on the substrates, can precisely control the magnetic, electric or optical fields on a micronano scale with low power consumption. It can realize strong trapping as well as coherent atomic manipulation. Since atom chip was first proposed twenty years ago, it has built a robust quantum platform for miniaturizing and integrating quantum optics and atomic physics tools on a chip. In this paper, first, we briefly review the development history of atom chips, then introduce the basic knowledge of micro potential traps and micro guides based on on-chip current-carrying wires. Afterwards, the key technologies about the chip material, design, fabrication, characterization and integration of atom chips are discussed in detail. We not only focus on the currently most active and successful areas - current carrying wires, but also look at more visionary approaches such as to the manipulation of atoms with real nano structures, say, carbon nano tubes. The design and fabrication principles of ideal atom chips are discussed as well. In the forth part, the worldwide plans and research projects involving with atom chip technologies are summarized, showing that many countries see this as an important foundational technology. Following that, the major developments in the application fields including atom clocks, atom interferometer gyroscope, cold atom gravimeter, etc are described. Finally, the challenges faced by atom chips towards practical application are pointed out and the prospects for their subsequent development are depicted.