Fabrication and process characterization of atom transistor chips

Abstract

This paper describes the design and fabrication of an atom chip for atom tunneling experiments. A fabrication process was developed that uses a combination of UV-optical and Electron-Beam lithography to pattern micrometer and nanometer scale copper wires on a single chip. The minimum wire width fabricated in this work is 200nm. The wires can carry current densities of more than 7.5×107 A/cm2. The electrical current tests establish the feasibility of realizing chip-based atom tunneling experiments.