Trapping atoms on a transparent permanent-magnet atom chip

We describe experiments on the trapping of atoms in microscopic magneto-optical traps on an optically transparent permanent-magnet atom chip. The chip is made of magnetically hard ferrite-garnet material deposited on a dielectric substrate. The confining magnetic fields are produced by miniature magnetized patterns recorded in the film by magneto-optical techniques. We trap Rb atoms on these structures by applying three crossed pairs of counterpropagating laser beams in the conventional magneto-optical trapping geometry. We demonstrate the flexibility of the concept in creation and in situ modification of the trapping geometries through several experiments.