Abstract: Reversible (relatively weak) anodic bonds permit glass and silicon components to be separated without damaging the components so that they can be reused. To this end, chamfered glass with high aluminum content can be used during the original anodic bonding. Anodic bonding is terminated after complete intimate contact is achieved and while the bond is reversible. The high aluminum content impedes further bond strengthening so that the bond does not become non-reversible via contact bonding. The chamfer provides access near the glass-silicon interface for prying the glass off the silicon to effect debonding without damaging the glass or the silicon. Accordingly, the glass, the silicon, or both may be rebounded (rather than being wastefully disposed).

Abstract: A sputter-ion-pump system includes a sputter ion pump and an electronic drive. The electronic drive supplies a voltage across the ion pump to establish, in cooperation with a magnetic field, a Penning trap within the ion pump. A current sensor measures the Penning-trap current across the Penning trap. The Penning trap is used as an indication of pressure within the ion pump or a vacuum chamber including or in fluid communication with the ion pump. The pressure information can be used to determine flow rates, e.g., due to a load, outgassing, and/or leakage from an ambient.

Abstract: A monolithic break-seal includes a membrane that separates an outer ring from an inner ring. The inner ring is bonded to a vacuum cell and the outer ring is bonded to a vacuum interface. To protect against unintentional breakage of the membrane, a surface of the outer ring not bonded to the vacuum interface contacts the vacuum cell. An external vacuum system evacuates the vacuum cell through an aperture of the break-seal. Once a target vacuum level is reached for the vacuum cell, a cap is bonded to the inner ring, blocking the aperture and hermetically sealing the vacuum cell. The membrane is broken so that the hermetically sealed vacuum cell can be separated from the vacuum interface to which the outer ring remains bonded.

Abstract: Reversible (relatively weak) anodic bonds permit glass and silicon components to be separated without damaging the components so that they can be reused. To this end, chamfered glass with high aluminum content can be used during the original anodic bonding. Anodic bonding is terminated after complete intimate contact is achieved and while the bond is reversible. The high aluminum content impedes further bond strengthening so that the bond does not become non-reversible via contact bonding. The chamfer provides access near the glass-silicon interface for prying the glass off the silicon to effect debonding without damaging the glass or the silicon. Accordingly, the glass, the silicon, or both may be rebounded (rather than being wastefully disposed).

Abstract: Beamformers are formed (e.g., carved) from a stack of transparent sheets. A rear face of each sheet has a reflective coating. The reflectivities of the coatings vary monotonically with sheet position within the stack. The sheets are tilted relative to the intended direction of an input beam and then bonded to form the stack. The carving can include dicing the stack to yield stacklets, and polishing the stacklets to form beamformers. Each beamformer is thus a stack of beamsplitters, including a front beamsplitter in the form of a triangular or trapezoidal prism, and one or more beamsplitters in the form of rhomboid prisms. In use, a beamformer forms an output beam from an input beam. More specifically, the beamformer splits an input beam into plural output beam components that collectively constitute an output beam that differs in cross section from the input beam.

Abstract: An ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system includes a UHV cell and an ion pump to maintain the UHV in the UHV cell. The ion pump has a GCC (glass, ceramic, or crystalline) housing. An interior wall of the ion-pump housing serves as an anode or bears a coating that serves as an anode. At least one cathode is disposed with respect to the housing so that it can cooperate with the anode to form an electric field for establishing a Penning trap. The GCC housing defines a flow channel that extends radially through the anode so that a molecule can flow directly into the most ionizing region of a Penning trap.

Abstract: An atomtronic (e.g., ultra-cold-matter physics or ion-trap) system includes a vacuum-cell structure, an integrated-circuit package with a pin-grid array, and a socket for interfacing the integrated-circuit package with external control and monitoring systems. After pins of the pin-grid array are inserted into holes of plates in the socket, the plates are moved in opposite directions so that contacts within the holes clamp in place the pins, providing electrical connections. The in-place clamping avoids stress at the seal between the integrated circuit package and the vacuum cell structure; thus, stress that could otherwise compromise the vacuum seal is avoided so as to yield a more reliable vacuum.

Abstract: An ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system includes a UHV cell and an ion pump to maintain the UHV in the UHV cell. The ion pump has a GCC (glass, ceramic, or crystalline) housing. An interior wall of the ion-pump housing serves as an anode or bears a coating that serves as an anode. At least one cathode is disposed with respect to the housing so that it can cooperate with the anode to form an electric field for establishing a Penning trap. The GCC housing defines a flow channel that extends radially through the anode so that a molecule can flow directly into the most ionizing region of a Penning trap.

Abstract: A cold-atom cell is formed by machining a block of silicon to define sites for an atom source chamber, an atom manipulation chamber, and an ion-pump chamber. A polished silicon panel is frit-bonded to an unpolished (due to machining) chamber wall (which would be difficult and costly to polish). The polished panel can then serve as a reflector or a sight for anodic bonding. A solid-phase atom source provides for vapor phase atoms in the source chamber. The source chamber also includes carbon and gold to regulate the atom pressure by sorbing and desorbing thermal atoms. The atom manipulation chamber includes components for magneto-optical trap and an atom chip, e.g., for forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. The ion-pump chamber serves as the site for an ion pump. By integrating the ion pump into the body of the cold-atom cell, a more compact, reliable, and robust cold-atom cell is achieved.

Abstract: An ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system includes a UHV cell and an ion pump to maintain the UHV in the UHV cell. The ion pump has a GCC (glass, ceramic, or crystalline) housing. An interior wall of the ion-pump housing serves as an anode or bears a coating that serves as an anode. At least one cathode is disposed with respect to the housing so that it can cooperate with the anode to form an electric field for establishing a Penning trap. The GCC housing defines a flow channel that extends radially through the anode so that a molecule can flow directly into the most ionizing region of a Penning trap.

Abstract: A cold-atom cell is formed by machining a block of silicon to define sites for an atom source chamber, an atom manipulation chamber, and an ion-pump chamber. A polished silicon panel is frit-bonded to an unpolished (due to machining) chamber wall (which would be difficult and costly to polish). The polished panel can then serve as a reflector or a sight for anodic bonding. A solid-phase atom source provides for vapor phase atoms in the source chamber. The source chamber also includes carbon and gold to regulate the atom pressure by sorbing and desorbing thermal atoms. The atom manipulation chamber includes components for magneto-optical trap and an atom chip, e.g., for forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. The ion-pump chamber serves as the site for an ion pump. By integrating the ion pump into the body of the cold-atom cell, a more compact, reliable, and robust cold-atom cell is achieved.

Abstract: In a disclosed embodiment, an ultra-cold-matter (UCM) system includes a source cell nested within a hermetically-sealed ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) enclosure. Source particles, e.g., strontium atoms, can be generated within the source cell by heating a non-vapor-phase source material. The source cell is thermally isolated, e.g., by UHV, from the enclosure. Accordingly, heat is retained in the source cell, reducing the amount of heat that must be generated in the source cell to generate the vapor-phase source particles. Particles can exit the source cell to an UHV ultra-cold region where the source particles can be cooled to produce ultra-cold particles thermally isolated from the heat within the source cell.

Abstract: In a disclosed embodiment, an ultra-cold-matter (UCM) system includes a source cell nested within a hermetically-sealed ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) enclosure. Source particles, e.g., strontium atoms, can be generated within the source cell by heating a non-vapor-phase source material. The source cell is thermally isolated, e.g., by UHV, from the enclosure. Accordingly, heat is retained in the source cell, reducing the amount of heat that must be generated in the source cell to generate the vapor-phase source particles. Particles can exit the source cell to an UHV ultra-cold region where the source particles can be cooled to produce ultra-cold particles thermally isolated from the heat within the source cell.