Electrostatic surface trap for cold polar molecules on a chip

Abstract

We propose a simple scheme for trapping cold polar molecules in low-field seeking states on the surface of a chip by using a grounded metal plate and two finite-length charged wires that half embanked in an insulating substrate, calculate the electric field distributions generated by our charged-wire layout in free space and the corresponding Stark potentials for ND3 molecules, and analyze the dependence of the trapping center position on the geometric parameters. Moreover, the loading and trapping processes of cold ND3 molecules are studied by using the Monte Carlo method. Our study shows that the loading efficiency of the trap scheme can reach 11.5%, and the corresponding temperature of the trapped cold molecules is about 26.4 mK.