  We report on the realization and characterisation of optical potentials for
ultracold atoms using a superluminescent diode. The light emitted by this class
of diodes is characterised by high spatial coherence but low temporal
coherence. On the one hand, this implies that it follows Gaussian propagation
similar to lasers, allowing for high intensities and well-collimated beams. On
the other, it significantly reduces those interference effects that lead to
severe distortions in imaging. By using a high-resolution optical setup, we
produce patterned optical potentials with a digital micromirror device and
demonstrate that the quality of the patterns produced by our superluminescent
diode is consistently and substantially higher than those produced by our
laser. We show that the resulting optical potentials can be used to arrange the
atoms in arbitrary structures and manipulate them dynamically. Our results can
open new opportunities in the fields of quantum simulations and atomtronics.
