2025/10/13 by Owen Cherry, Cherry, O., Carter, J. D. +1
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.11902
openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex publication_date 2025/10/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
An atom chip has been fabricated for the study of interactions between 87Rb Rydberg atoms and a Au surface. The chip tightly confines cold atoms by generating high magnetic field gradients using microfabricated current-carrying wires. These trapped atoms may be excited to Rydberg states at well-defined atom-surface distances. For the purpose of Rydberg atom-surface interaction studies, the chip has a thermally evaporated Au surface layer, separated from the underlying trapping wires by a planarizing polyimide dielectric. Special attention was paid to the edge roughness of the trapping wires, the planarization of the polyimide, and the grain structure of the Au surface.