We have been developping various new concepts and experimental demonstrations to push matter wave interferometry towards higher mass, larger size, higher internal complexity and higher temperature... i.e. closer to "classicality".
Quantum decoherence, i.e. the dilution and reduction of measurable quantum coherence through entanglement between a quanutm system and its environment, is important for the foundations of quantum physics and for quantum information processing. We have shown the first experimental studies on decoherence mediated by collisions and thermal emission of radiation in molecule interferometry.
The high sensitivity of quantum interference patterns to external perturbations can be exploited to measure weak external forces or internal molecular properties with high sensitivity. Quantum assisted molecule metrology has access to electronic and magnetic as well as structural, thermodynamic, optical and even dynamical properties of delocalized clusters and molecules.
Molecular near-field interferometry intrinsically creates flying molecular nanostrucutres which can be deposited and imaged on atomically clean surfaces. Quantum assisted molecule lithography is a new field of research which studies the potential of quantum interference for enscribing large area nanopatterns composed of single molecules.
Interferometry with clusters and molecules necessitates new methods to generate cold, dense, slow and mass selected neutral particle beams as well as techniques to detect them with high sensitivity and specificity.
We have developed a new locking mechanism for empty 2-mirror cavities, which is based on the intrinsic weak birefringes of essentially all dielectric mirrors. The WMB lock operates DC and with only a few low-cost optical elements.