Atom optics

Interference of atom matter waves was first observed by Esterman and Stern in 1930, when a Na beam was diffracted off a surface of NaCl.{{cite journal | last1 = Estermann | first1 = I. | author-link2 = Otto Stern | last2 = Stern | first2 = Otto | year = 1930 | title = Beugung von Molekularstrahlen| journal = Z. Phys. | volume = 61 | issue = 1–2| page = 95 | doi=10.1007/bf01340293|bibcode = 1930ZPhy...61...95E | s2cid = 121757478 }} The short de Broglie wavelength of atoms prevented progress for many years until two technological breakthroughs revived interest: microlithography allowing precise small devices and laser cooling allowing atoms to be slowed, increasing their de Broglie wavelength.

Until 2006, the resolution of imaging systems based on atomic beams was not better than that of an optical microscope, mainly due to the poor performance of the focusing elements. Such elements use small numerical aperture; usually, atomic mirrors use grazing incidence, and the reflectivity drops drastically with increase of the grazing angle; for efficient normal reflection, atoms should be ultracold, and dealing with such atoms usually involves magnetic, magneto-optical or optical traps.

At the beginning of the 21st century scientific publications about "atom nano-optics", evanescent field lenses{{Cite journal |first1=Victor |last1=Balykin |first2=Vasili |last2=Klimov |first3=Vlasilen |last3=Letokhov |title=Atom Nano-Optics |journal=Optics and Photonics News |date=March 2005 |pages=44-48 |url=https://www.optica-opn.org/home/articles/volume_16/issue_3/features/atom_nano-optics/}} and ridged mirrors{{cite journal

|url=http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PRLTAO000094000001013203000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes

| author= H.Oberst |author2=D.Kouznetsov |author3=K.Shimizu |author4=J.Fujita |author5=F. Shimizu

| title=Fresnel Diffraction Mirror for an Atomic Wave

| journal=Physical Review Letters

| volume=94

| issue=1

| pages=013203

| year=2005

| doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.013203

| bibcode=2005PhRvL..94a3203O | pmid=15698079

| hdl=2241/104208

| hdl-access=free

}}{{cite journal

| url=http://stacks.iop.org/0953-4075/39/1605

| author= D.Kouznetsov |author2=H. Oberst |author3=K. Shimizu |author4=A. Neumann |author5=Y. Kuznetsova |author6=J.-F. Bisson |author7=K. Ueda |author8=S. R. J. Brueck

| title=Ridged atomic mirrors and atomic nanoscope

| journal=Journal of Physics B

| volume=39

| issue=7

| pages=1605–1623

| year=2006

| doi=10.1088/0953-4075/39/7/005

|bibcode = 2006JPhB...39.1605K | citeseerx= 10.1.1.172.7872 | s2cid= 16653364 }}

showed significant improvement.

{{Cite journal |first = Schmidt-Kaler | last = F |author2=T Pfau |author3=P Schmelcher |author4=W Schleich | year = 2010 | title = Focus on Atom Optics and its Applications | journal = New Journal of Physics | volume = 12 | issue = 6| pages = 065014| doi = 10.1088/1367-2630/12/6/065014 |bibcode = 2010NJPh...12f5014S | doi-access = free}} In particular, an atomic hologram can be realized.{{cite journal

| author = Shimizu

|author2=J. Fujita

| year = 2002

| title = Reflection-Type Hologram for Atoms

| journal = Physical Review Letters

| volume=88| issue = 12 |page=123201

| doi = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.123201

| pmid = 11909457

| bibcode=2002PhRvL..88l3201S

}}

• Atom interferometer
• Atomic nanoscope
• Electron microscope
• Quantum reflection

• {{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109152922/http://atomwave.org/ |archive-date=2015-11-09 |url=http://atomwave.org/ |title=Atomwave.org, RMP Article, Cronin Group Research, Atomic and Optical Science Researchers at the University of Arizona |website=atomwave.org |access-date=12 March 2024 |publisher=University of Arizona |url-status=unfit}} Former website of the Arizona research group.

• {{Cite book |first=Pierre |last=Meystre |author-link= |title=Atom Optics |date=2001 |publisher=AIP Press/Springer |series=Springer series on atomic, optical, and plasma physics, 33 |location=New York |isbn=0387952748 |oclc=45962873}} {{ASIN|0387952748}}
• {{Cite book |first=Pierre |last=Meystre |title=Quantum Optics Taming the Quantum |publisher=Springer International Publishing, Cham |date=2021 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-76183-7|ISBN=9783030761837 |OCLC=1346683874 |series=Graduate Texts in Physics |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76183-7}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atom Optics}}

Category:Atomic, molecular, and optical physics

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