Fabrication and characterization of super-polished wedged borosilicate nano-cells

Abstract

We report on the fabrication of an all-glass vapor cell with a thickness varying linearly between (exactly) 0 and ∼1 μm. The cell is made in Borofloat glass that allows state-of-the-art super polish roughness, a full optical bonding assembling and easy filling with alkali vapors. We detail the challenging manufacture steps and present experimental spectra resulting from fluorescence and transmission spectroscopy of the cesium D1 line. The very small surface roughness of 1 Å rms is promising to investigate the atom-surface interaction or to minimize parasite stray light.