Abstract

This paper discusses the possibility of implementing nanostructures about 1nm across when an atomic beam is focused in an external potential field. It is shown that, to obtain such a transverse size of a beam of atoms, the atoms must be cooled at right angles to the propagation axis substantially below the temperature determined by the output energy. This paper therefore proposes a new mechanism for the deep cooling of atoms, based on the Raman excitation of three-level atoms by a field of standing waves with a relative spatial shift. The advantage of this cooling mechanism is the weak sensitivity to the shape and width of the light pulses.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

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