We experimentally study the diffraction of a Bose-Einstein condensate from a
magnetic lattice, realized by a set of 372 parallel gold conductors which are
micro fabricated on a silicon substrate. The conductors generate a periodic
potential for the atoms with a lattice constant of 4 microns. After exposing
the condensate to the lattice for several milliseconds we observe diffraction
up to 5th order by standard time of flight imaging techniques. The experimental
data can be quantitatively interpreted with a simple phase imprinting model.
The demonstrated diffraction grating offers promising perspectives for the
construction of an integrated atom interferometer.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
