Atomic diffraction by patterned holes in hexagonal boron nitride: a comparison between semi-classical and quantum computational models
Abstract
The diffraction of atoms and molecules through tiny, sub-nanometre holes in atomically thin membranes is a promising approach for advancing atom interferometry sensing and atomic holography. However, dispersion interactions, such as the Casimir-Polder force, pose a significant challenge by attracting diffracting particles to the membrane, limiting the minimum hole size. This paper presents a numerical simulation of helium matter-wave diffraction through sub-nanometre holes in hexagonal boron nitride by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. Our results show that the transmission rates in the quantum approach are significantly higher than those predicted by the commonly used semi-classical approach. This suggests that significantly smaller holes can be used in the design of diffractive masks, provided that fabrication techniques can meet the atomic-level precision to realise such holes. Furthermore, we observe notable differences in diffraction patterns, even for atom velocities that are much greater than the expected convergence threshold between semi-classical and quantum computational models.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.08336,
title = {Atomic diffraction by patterned holes in hexagonal boron nitride: a comparison between semi-classical and quantum computational models},
author = {Eivind Kristen Osestad and Ekaterina Zossimova and Michael Walter and Johannes Fiedler},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.08336},
year = {2025}
}