Applications of silicon carbide as window materials in atomic cells and atomic devices

Atomic cells made by anodically bonding silicon and borosilicate glasses are widely used in atomic devices. One inherent problem in these cells is that the silicon material blocks beams with wavelengths shorter than 1000 nm, which limits available optical access when alkali metal atoms are involved. In this work, we investigate the possibility of the silicon carbide material as an alternative to silicon materials in fabricating anodically bonded cells. We demonstrate that the optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of silicon carbide help to improve the performance of atomic devices in certain applications.