Trapping cold polar molecules on chips Original Research Article

We summarize recent progress in the production of cold polar molecules emphasizing the photoassociation of laser cooled and trapped atoms in a magneto-optical trap. We then describe one approach to trapping these molecules via interaction with their electric dipole moments. Our studies focus on the case of a simple electrode geometry that can be realized using photolithography on the surface of a silicon chip, enabling the realization of a “molecule chip.”