Scattering and Guiding by Atomic Walls

We propose the possibility of using a wall of atoms to guide matter waves, e.g. electrons or other atoms, in a manner similar to which a fiber optic guides light. Such walls could be engineered from individual atoms by STM, for instance. We model the atomic wall as a quasi-1D array of scatterers embedded in 2D; our theoretical study reveals the interplay of scattering phenomena with bands and conduction along the array. We discuss the conditions under which straight or curved arrays of atoms can guide a beam focused on one end of the array.