Beam splitter on a chip. (a) Photograph of the atom chip used for guiding atoms. (b) Schematic diagram showing two U-shaped electrodes threaded by a Y-shaped conductor. The electrodes help to guide a small beam of atoms move over the surface of the surface, while currents in one or the other of the Y-shaped conductor serves to direct the atom beam to the left or the right or two split into two sub-beams.
Reported by: Cassettari et al., Physics Review Letters, 25 December, 2000.
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