Optimized magneto-optical trap for experiments with ultracold atoms near surfaces -: art. no. 030901

We present an integrated wire-based magneto-optical trap for the simplified trapping and cooling of large numbers of neutral atoms near material surfaces. With a modified U-shaped current-carrying Cu structure we collect more than 3x10(8) Rb-87 atoms in a mirror magneto-optical trap without using quadrupole coils. These atoms are subsequently loaded to a Z-wire trap where they are evaporatively cooled to a Bose-Einstein condensate close to the surface.