Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-05-29

Trapping of atoms on a super-conducting atom chip

Objective

Atom chips have led over the last years to important progress in the field of cold atoms and interesting potential applications. Such experiments aim at trapping atoms in the magnetic field created by micron-sized wires. The latter are easily engineered by standard microelectronic techniques.

The possibility to create any kind of magnetic potential allows for precise manipulation of the atomic sample, particularly interesting if the atoms are in a condensed phase and hence exhibit a collective quantum behaviour. Moreover atom chips offer a natural playground to bring atoms close to conventional micro- or optoelectronics systems and use their coupling to the latter.

We are building an atom chip with superconducting Niobium wires as opposed to earlier experiments using normal metals. The lithography of superconducting circuits is a domain of expertise of the applicant. Our cryogenic system will bring important information about the dynamics of the trapping, in which current fluctuations play a crucial role and can become a limiting factor.

Current noise properties are completely different for superconductors and could improve earlier performances of normal metals. As an example we want to trap the atoms in a permanent superconducting current without external power supply. More generally, the trapped cloud geometry will reflect the magnetic fields created by the superconducting wires.

We want to use it to observe the remarkable properties of the superconducting phase such as the current distribution in the wire or the presence of vortices in the material. Our final goal is to excite the atomic sample towards Rydberg states where atom-atom dipolar coupling plays an important role, possibly relevant for quantum information processing.

This program will develop superconducting detectors for those particular atomic states. This would be a first step towards the integration of atomic system with superconducting circuits such as SQUIDs.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships

Coordinator

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE
EU contribution
No data
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data
My booklet 0 0