Large-Angle, Single-Order, One and Two-Dimensional Atomic Interferometry for Creation of Nanostructures

We have shown via explicit analysis as well as numerical simulation the design of two large angle interferometers employing two-photon pulses. The first one uses the technique of adiabatic following in a dark state to produce a large splitting angle atomic interferometer that is capable of producing one dimensional gratings with spacings as small as 2 nm. Unlike other large angle interferometers, this technique is not sensitive to errors in optical pulse area and decoherence from excited state decay. This may lead to a nearly two orders of magnitude improvement in the sensitivity of devices such as atomic gyroscopes, which are already as good as the best laser gyroscopes. The second interferometer uses the technique of Raman pulses to produce a two-dimensional interferometer, with independent choice of grating spacings in each direction, each being as small as 2 nm. This scheme may enable one to produce uniform arrays of quantum dots with dimensions of only a few nm on each side. In addition, it may be possible to generalize this process to produce arbitrary patterns with the same type of resolution.