We have constructed and characterised a novel source of slow atoms based on a pyramidal magneto optical trap with a small hole at its vertex. Atoms are first captured in the trap and then pushed through the hole by a laser beam. The size and velocity of the resulting pulses of atoms were measured. The flux of cold atoms was 1.1 × 109 atoms/s and the apparatus is readily scaleable to obtain higher fluxes. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
