An apparatus for trapping and sensing nanoparticles using plasmonic nanopores, comprising a conductive transparent layer, a conductive film layer mounted to a substrate, the film layer comprising a plurality of nanopores for trapping nanoparticles contained in a fluid situated between the conductive transparent layer and the conductive film layer, and an electric field source connected between the transparent layer and the film layer.

Atom-scale particles, e.g., neutral and charged atoms and molecules, are pre-cooled, e.g., using magneto-optical traps (MOTs), to below 100 K to yield cold particles. The cold particles are transported to a sensor cell which cools the cold particles to below 1 K using an optical trap; these particles are stored in a reservoir within an optical trap within the sensor cell so that they are readily available to replenish a sensor population of particles in quantum superposition. A baffle is disposed between the MOTs and the sensor cell to prevent near-resonant light leaking from the MOTs from entering the sensor cell (and exciting the ultra-cold particles in the reservoir). The transporting from the MOTs to the sensor cell is effected by moving optical fringes of optical lattices and guiding the cold particles attached to the fringes along a meandering path through the baffle and into the sensor cell.

An optical frequency manipulation using an optical subsystem configured to provide a modulated laser beam for interaction with an atomic sample. The optical system may include: an optical subsystem for producing a light beam, the optical subsystem having a laser source and an IQ modulator, wherein the IQ modulator is operable to modulate light from the laser source at a carrier frequency to produce modulated light having a single sideband at a sideband frequency; and a chamber for containing an atomic sample, wherein the optical subsystem is arranged to direct the light beam towards the chamber to interact with an atomic sample contained therein.

An atom interferometer system includes a sensor cell comprising alkali metal atoms. An optical system generates first and second interrogation beams having respective first and second frequencies and a circular polarization. The optical system includes optics that provide the first and second interrogation beams through the sensor cell in a first direction and reflect the first and second interrogation beams back through the sensor cell in a second direction opposite the first direction and in a same circular polarization to drive the alkali metal atoms from a first energy state to a greater energy state during an interrogation stage of sequential measurement cycles. A detection system detects a state distribution of a population of the alkali metal atoms between the first energy state and the second energy state during the interrogation stage based on an optical response.

Examples include a method to position atoms. The method comprises considering a target Hamiltonian encoding a specific problem to resolve using an optical tweezer traps quantum computing system. The method also comprises considering a set of representative Hamiltonians function of a position configuration of atoms in the quantum computing system. The method further comprises determining a specific position configuration whereby a specific similarity measure between the target Hamiltonian and a specific Hamiltonian of the representative Hamiltonians function of the specific position configuration is improved compared to another similarity measure between the target Hamiltonian and at least one other representative Hamiltonian function of a position configuration differing from the specific position configuration. In response to the determination of the specific position configuration, the method comprises positioning atoms in the specific position configuration in order to attempt to resolve the specific problem using the quantum computing system.

In some variations, an interferometric frequency-reference apparatus comprises: an atom source configured to supply neutral atoms to be ionized; an ionizer configured to excite the neutral atoms to form ionized atoms; an ion collimator configured to form a collimated beam of the ionized atoms; probe lasers; and a Doppler laser configured to determine a ground-state population of the ionized atoms, wherein the atom source, the ionizer, and the ion collimator are disposed within a vacuum chamber. Other variations provide a method of creating a stable frequency reference, comprising: forming ionized atoms from an atomic vapor; forming a collimated beam of ionized atoms; illuminating ionized atoms with first and second probe lasers; adjusting the frequencies of the first probe and second probe lasers using Ramsey spectroscopy to an S.fwdarw.D transition of ionized atoms; and determining a ground-state population of the ionized atoms with another laser.

A quantum simulator includes a pseudo speckle pattern generator, a main vacuum chamber, an atomic gas supply unit, a light beam generator, a photodetector, and an atom number detector. The pseudo speckle pattern generator generates a pseudo speckle pattern in the inside of the main vacuum chamber by light allowed to enter the inside of the main vacuum chamber through the second window. The pseudo speckle pattern generator includes a controller, a light source, a beam expander, a spatial light modulator, and a lens. The controller sets a modulation distribution of the spatial light modultor based on a two-dimensional pseudo random number pattern.

A micro device transferring apparatus and a micro device transferring method are provided. The micro device transferring apparatus for moving a micro device fixed on an original substrate to a target substrate includes: a stripper on a side of the original substrate away from the micro device, configured to strip the micro device off the original substrate, and an optical tweezer configured to tweeze the micro device from a side of the original substrate provided with the micro device, wherein an accommodating space for accommodating the micro device and the original substrate is between the stripper and the optical tweezer.

A magneto-optical trap apparatus includes a vacuum vessel for encapsulating an atom to be trapped, an anti-Helmholtz coil for applying a magnetic field to an inside of the vacuum vessel, a laser device for generating a laser beam, and an irradiation device for irradiating the generated laser beam from a plurality of directions. The laser beam includes a first laser beam detuned from a first resonance frequency when the atom transits from a total angular momentum quantum number F in a ground state to a total angular momentum quantum number F=F+1 in an excited state, and a second laser beam detuned from a second resonance frequency when the atom transits from the total angular momentum quantum number F in the ground state to a total angular momentum quantum number F=F1 in the excited state, among transitions from J=0 in a ground state to J=1 in an excited state.

Atom-scale particles, e.g., neutral and charged atoms and molecules, are pre-cooled, e.g., using magneto-optical traps (MOTs), to below 100 K to yield cold particles. The cold particles are transported to an atom-chip cell which cools the cold particles to below 1 K; these particles are stored in a reservoir within the atom-chip cell so that they are readily available to replenish a sensor population of particles in quantum superposition. A baffle is disposed between the MOTs and the atom-chip cell to prevent near-resonant light leaking from the MOTs from entering the atom-chip cell (and exciting the ultra-cold particles in the reservoir). The transporting from the MOTs to the atom-chip cell is effected by moving optical fringes of optical lattices and guiding the cold particles attached to the fringes along a meandering path through the baffle and into the atom-chip cell.