A brief article on the Physical Review focus website ("Guiding Atoms with a Hologram", by J.R. Minkel, 21 February 2002) describes research into holographic control of atom lithography:
One approach to 3D patterning envisions steering atomic beams with a maze of laser light, but creating complicated light patterns isn't easy. Now a team reports in the 25 February print issue of Physical Review Letters that a so-called holographic crystal can efficiently generate more complex stencils for atoms. With a single incoming laser, the authors generated a three-beam interference pattern and etched a periodic design onto a gold surface. The method could theoretically accommodate 1000 beams and make intricate structures, such as photonic crystals–a new technology that may lead to "circuits of light."
