We report the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of a single-layer atom chip capable of continuous operation for laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms. Traditional atom chips often use multilayer structures and operate in pulsed modes due to heat buildup from current-carrying wires. In this work, we optimized the chip’s geometry and materials — including the use of silver microwires and improved heat dissipation pathways — to efficiently remove heat from the active region and enable steady-state operation. As a result, we achieved continuous cooling and magnetic trapping of around 3 × 10⁵ rubidium atoms near the chip surface, demonstrating that a simplified single-layer design can support prolonged atom trapping relevant for applications in atom interferometry, quantum sensing, and compact quantum devices.
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