Method for focusing neutral atoms, molecules and ions

摘要

A cw laser beam of radiation superimposed upon a beam of particles, for example a beam of neutral particles, can cause substantial changes in particle trajectories when the radiation frequency is tuned near a resonant transition in the particle. The particles can be confined by, ejected from, or steered by the laser beam. The present invention teaches the range of values over which the frequency of electromagnetic radiation is to be offset from the frequency of a particle resonance, as a function of radiation power for specific wave propagation modes, to produce best focusing of the particle beam by a copropagating beam of electromagnetic radiation. Our invention takes into account the effect of random fluctuations which arise out of the quantum nature of the electromagnetic wave-particle interaction in order to determine the appropriate range of values.