#AtomTrapping
LightNews LightNews
informaq.bsky.social
Nanofiber Quantum Technologies, Inc. patent filing describes a counter-propagating optical tweezer system enabling selective transport and precise manipulation of atoms evanescently coupled to nanofiber regions for quantum information processing.

#OpticalTweezers #AtomTrapping #Patent
Counter-Propagating Optical Tweezers with Nanofiber Coupling for Quantum Atom Control
patents.google.com
July 10, 2026 at 8:49 AM
mickeykats.bsky.social
The review also describes how metasurfaces can help miniaturize cold-atom instrumentation, in particular by integrating multiple optical functionalities into a single ultra-thin optical component

We also surveyed the fabrication materials and methods 🧪💡
Figure 3: Multi-functionality, miniaturization, and integration enabled by metasurfaces in atomtrapping optical systems. (a) Multi-functional metasurface for generating a MOT, combining beam splitting and polarization control to generate five cooling beams from one incident beam; adapted from [64]. (b) Polarization-multiplexed metalens, operating for two wavelengths (780 nm and 850 nm) for two orthogonal linear polarizations; adapted from [38]. (c) Wavelength-multiplexed metalens at 780 nm and 852 nm, which adds quarter-wave-plate functionality only at 852 nm; adapted from [66]. (d–g) Representative compact metasurfaces that range from sub-millimeter to a few millimeters; adapted from [28, 29, 38, 66]. (h) Schematic of bright- and dark-trap generation using a metasurface integrated inside a vacuum cell; adapted from [29]. (i) An amorphous silicon on fused silica metasurface integrated inside a vacuum glass cell to replace high-NA objective; adapted from [38]. (j) Integrated metasurface platform to launch a centimeter-scale circularly polarized beam for generating MOTs; adapted from [67]. (k) Metasurface integrated to a rubidium-vapor atomic magnetometer for balanced polarimetry in a rubidium-vapor atomic magnetometer; adapted from [68]. Figure 4: Optical materials for neutral-atom trapping metasurfaces (a) Refractive index (n) as a function of wavelength for metasurface materials, including a-Si [88], c-Si [29], TiO2 [82], Si3N4 [89]. Solid curves indicate low-loss regions with κ < 0.01, while dashed curves indicate absorbing regions with a larger extinction coefficient. Vertical dashed lines mark several representative atomic transitions: Yb at 399 nm, Sr at 461 nm, Rb D2 at 780 nm, Cs D2 at 852 nm. (b) Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of metasurfaces fabricated from a-Si [65], c-Si [29], TiO2 [59], SiNx [64].
June 10, 2026 at 3:17 AM