Interferometric modulation of an atomic beam by an electric field: A phase hologram for atoms

Electric-field-controlled atomic holography has been demonstrated. A binary hologram pattern was encoded in the gaps of regularly spaced parallel stripes of platinum electrodes formed on SiN4 thin film. Each electrode was either grounded or connected to a terminal. The electrode connections were arranged so that an electric field appeared in approximately half the 512 gaps when a finite voltage was applied to the terminal. By controlling this voltage, we could shift, erase, or switch holographically reconstructed two-dimensional images of atoms on a screen.