Abstract
FOCUSING of atomic beams has been investigated for more than 40 years1–9. The formation of images of simple objects such as points or slits has been demonstrated7–9, but only with long focal lengths and large chromatic aberrations owing to the velocity distribution of the thermal beam. Lasers can be used to slow and cool the atomic beam10, reducing the focal length; and by optically narrowing the velocity spread of the beam, chromatic aberrations can be reduced substantially. Here we report the construction of an atomic imaging device, using a hexapole lens made from permanent magnets, which produces images in the same way as an optical slide projector. A mask is illuminated by a beam of caesium atoms prepared using a laser diode, and its image appears on a 'resonant light screen', where a sheet of laser light excites atomic fluorescence. We can obtain magnified and demagnified images with remarkable resolution, suggesting that this technique might be used to create sub-micrometre atomic structures.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, C. S., Sigel, M. & Mlynek, J. Phys. Rep. 240, 143–210 (1994).
Friedburg, H. & Paul, W. Naturwissenschaften 38, 159–160 (1951).
Friedburg, H. Z. Phys. 130, 493–512 (1951).
McClelland, J. & Scheinfein, M. R. J. opt. Soc. Am. B8, 1974–1986 (1991).
McClelland, J. J., Scholten, R. E., Palm, E. C. & Celotta, R. J. Science 162, 877–880 (1993).
Timp, G. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 1636–1639 (1992).
Sleator, T., Pfau, T., Balykin, V. & Mlynek, J. Appl. Phys. B54, 375–379 (1992).
Balykin, V. I., Letokhov, V. S., Sidorov, A. I. & Ovchinnikov, Y. B. J. mod. Opt. 35, 17–34 (1988).
Carnal, O., Sigel, M., Sleator, T., Takuma, H. & Mlynek, J. Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 3231–3234 (1991).
J. opt. Soc. Am. (Spec. Iss.) B6, (1989).
Ertmer, W., Blatt, R., Hall, J. L. & Zhu, M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 996–999 (1985).
Watts, R. N. & Wieman, C. E. Opt. Lett. 11, 291–293 (1986).
Kaenders, W. G., Frerichs, V., Schröder, F. & Meschede, D. Hyperfine Interactions 76, 221–232 (1993).
Halbach, K. Nucl. Instrum. Meth. 169, 1–10 (1980).
Esslinger, T., Hemmerich, A. & Hänsch, T. W. Opt. Commun. 93, 49–53 (1992).
Kasevich, M. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2297–2301 (1991).
Nellessen, J., Werner, J. & Ertmer, W. Opt. Commun. 78, 300–308 (1990).
Witte, A., Kisters, T., Riehle, F. & Helmcke, J. J. opt. Soc. Am. B9, 1030–1037 (1992).
Prodan, J. V., Phillips, W. D. & Metcalf, H. Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1149–1153 (1982).
Joffe, M. A., Ketterle, W., Martin, A. & Pritchard, D. E. J. opt. Soc. Am. B12, 2257–2262 (1992).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaenders, W., Lison, F., Richter, A. et al. Imaging with an atomic beam. Nature 375, 214–216 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/375214a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/375214a0
This article is cited by
-
Nanofabrication by magnetic focusing of supersonic beams
Applied Physics B (2011)
-
Magnetic hexapole lens focusing of a metastable helium atomic beam for UV-free lithography
Applied Physics B (2007)
-
An atom-focusing mirror
Nature (1997)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
