  We present an effective and fast (few microseconds) procedure for
transferring ultra-cold atoms from the ground state in a harmonic trap into the
desired bands of an optical lattice. Our shortcut method is a designed pulse
sequence where the time duration and the interval in each step are fully
optimized in order to maximize robustness and fidelity of the final state with
respect to the target state. The atoms can be prepared in a single band with
even or odd parity, and superposition states of different bands can be prepared
and manipulated. Furthermore, we extend this idea to the case of
two-dimensional or three-dimensional optical lattices where the energies of
excited states are degenerate. We experimentally demonstrate various examples
and show very good agreement with the theoretical model. Efficient shortcut
methods will find applications in the preparation of quantum systems, in
quantum information processing, in precise measurement and as a starting point
to investigate dynamics in excited bands.
