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We have demonstrated a novel diffraction grating for atoms. A collimated beam of sodium atoms with a de Broglie wavelength of 17 pm was diffracted by transmission through an array of slits with a spatial period of 0. 2 formed in a gold membrane. This is the first reported diffraction of atoms by a fabricated periodic structure. Our transmission grating for atoms can divide or recombine an atomic beam coherently, and may provide the easiest route to the realization of an atom wave interferometer.
Keith et al. (Mon,) studied this question.