Abstract

The quality of magnetic traps, especially for applications such as evaporative cooling, is determined by the trap depth, gradient and curvature. All of these quantities can be dramatically improved by miniaturization of the currentcarrying structures. They typically scale as I/a, I/a² and I/a³, respectively, where I is the electric current and a the characteristic dimension of the structure [1]. Technically, this miniaturization requires wires of sub-mm diameter that can stand currents on the order of 1 A. Free-standing wires are not suitable as the ohmic heating will cause the wire to glow. Superconducting wires present desirable features, but introduce obvious experimental complications. Our approach employs a novel field configuration in conjunction with a standard technique of semiconductor industry to create a highly versatile trap with only moderate experimental difficulty.

© 1998 IEEE