UHV-compatible magnetic material for atom optics

Magnetic videotape is of great interest for trapping and guiding cold atomi c vapors, but was hitherto considered unsuitable for manipulating Bose-Eins tein condensates (BEC) because of the presumed evolution of gas under vacuu m. We have studied the outgassing in vacuum of the most promising tape, Amp ex 398 Betacam SP. We find that after cleaning in ethanol and baking for 20 0 h at 100 degreesC the magnetic patterns are undisturbed and the outgassin g is remarkably small: 4 x 10(-10) Torr1s(-1)cm(-2), due mostly to hydrogen . This makes the tape exceedingly attractive for manipulation of BEG.