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arXiv:1109.4610 · Applied Physics Letters

High data-rate atom interferometer for measuring acceleration

Hayden McGuinness, Akash V. Rakholia, Grant W. Biedermann

Published Jan 2, 2012• 88 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate a high data-rate light-pulse atom interferometer for measuring acceleration. The device is optimized to operate at rates between 50 Hz to 330 Hz with sensitivities of 0.57μg/Hz to 36.7μg/Hz, respectively. Our method offers a dramatic increase in data rate and demonstrates a path to applications in highly dynamic environments. The performance of the device can largely be attributed to the high recapture efficiency of atoms from one interferometer measurement cycle to another.

DOI
10.1063/1.3673845

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The use of cold atoms in any sensor operating in a dynamic environment requires that the measurement cycle be conducted before the atom cloud escapes the interaction region. Under multiple-g accelerations it is desirable to complete measurements in millisecond time scales, particularly when laser beams are used to interrogate the atoms. In this paper, we demonstrate high-contrast atom interferometry in a vapor cell using stimulated Raman transitions at millisecond interrogation times. Laser-cooled cesium atoms are interrogated with a sequence of three Raman pulses and the interferometer phase is read out in the same region in which the atoms are trapped. Our system achieved over 70% contrast with a Doppler insensitive interferometer and over 30% contrast with a Doppler sensitive interferometer, in an environment normally considered adverse to high-contrast atom interferometry (e.g., no retroreflector stabilization and no magnetic shielding). Demonstration of an inertially sensitive atom interferometer in this environment supports the feasibility of a high-bandwidth inertial sensor using light pulse atom interferometry. Finally, we show that Raman pulse population transfer efficiency in our system is primarily limited by nonuniformity of the Raman laser intensity across the atom cloud.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Feb 10, 2011•33 citations
We demonstrate a high data-rate light-pulse atom interferometer for measuring acceleration. The device is optimized to operate at rates between 50 Hz to 330 Hz with sensitivities of 0.57μg/Hz to 36.7μg/Hz, respectively. Our method offers a dramatic increase in data rate and demonstrates a path to applications in highly dynamic environments. The performance of the device can largely be attributed to the high recapture efficiency of atoms from one interferometer measurement cycle to another.
Light pulse atom interferometers have demonstrated remarkable sensitivity and stability for acceleration and rotation rate measurement. However, typical manifestations are designed for laboratory environments and thus rely on a fixed magnitude and direction of gravity, and limited ambient rotation rate. We have enhanced the application space of atom interferometers towards more dynamic environments, with special attention for inertial navigation. I present our work in the domain of short time-of-flight atom interferometry, whereby the magnitude of ensemble excursion is constrained. The limited interrogation time results in a significant loss of sensitivity. We recover a fraction of the lost sensitivity by operating with an enhanced duty-cycle and data-rate. To demonstrate this concept, we construct an atom interferometer accelerometer capable of operating at data-rates as high as 300 Hz with sensitivities at μg/rtHz levels, which represents a competitive figure for inertial navigation application. For the bulk of this work, we demonstrate a dual-axis sensor capable of simultaneous acceleration and rotation-rate measurements. The sensor relies on a technique we refer to as "ensemble exchange" which provides a high flux source of ultracold atoms by swapping atomic ensembles between two MOTs. We achieve a steady-state atom number of 7e6 atoms/shot using a minimal loading time of a few milliseconds each shot. Furthermore, we find this technique to be robust under dynamic conditions as large as 10 g of acceleration and 20 rad/s of rotation rate, representing a significant enhancement in ultra-cold atom sample preparation. The sensor achieves μg/rtHz and μrad/s/rtHz sensitivities, making this technique a compelling prospect for inertial navigation applications. Through the use of auxiliary cosensors and a real-time combinatorial loop with feedforward and feedback mechanisms, we demonstrate an unprecedented enhancement of the sensor dynamic range up to 20 mg. Finally, I will discuss a novel manifestation of short time-of-flight atom interferometry in a warm atomic vapor, which avoids the complication of cold sample preparation and has the potential for significantly simplified laser systems.
Matter-wave interferometry has enabled high precision measurements of inertial forces such as gravity and the Coriolis force. This is facilitated by the long-term stability of the physical properties of atoms and lasers. Recent experiments have demonstrated the operation of portable, robust sensors using atom interferometry. This has potential uses in the context of inertial navigation, where conventional devices suffer from long-term drifts due to bias instability. Furthermore, determining position via dead reckoning requires minimisation of dead time between measurements. This thesis presents the development of an atom interferometer for measuring horizontal accelerations. In this configuration, gravity induces motion across the laser wavefront, which constrains the tolerable level of wavefront distortions. Effective control of the experiment allows the interferometer to be operated at a rate of 4 Hz. A cold ensemble of 10^6 atoms in the same internal state is prepared in 150 ms. The interferometer operates using a sequence of three laser pulses separated by T= 25 ms to achieve sensitivity to horizontal accelerations. Combining this with a classical accelerometer provides a method of correcting for vibration-induced noise, as well as determining the interferometer fringe order. After an integration time of 40 s, the sensitivity to horizontal accelerations is better than 3^-6 m s^-2. Effects which limit this sensitivity are discussed.
Measuring low-frequency and ultra-low-frequency vibration signals is of critical importance in fields such as structural mechanics, geological exploration, aerospace, precision machining, and biomedicine. Existing methods face limitations in achieving both ultra-low-frequency range and high precision. We present an ultra-low-frequency vibration measurement method based on the atom interferometer, capable of measuring vibration signals from 0.01 Hz to DC. The performance of measurement was experimentally demonstrated for vibrations between 0.007 Hz and 0.01 Hz, achieving a sensitivity of 1.1 μm/s2/Hz. Incorporating active vibration isolation can further enhance the measurement range, increasing the optimal sensitivity to 0.2 μm/s2/Hz.
Atom interferometers use light to track the Doppler effect as ensembles of cold atoms such as 87{}^{87}87Rb travel ballistically in vacuum. These systems are used as ultrasensitive gravimeters and could also be exceptional broadband inertial sensors for vehicle navigation and guidance, but typically they are designed for a static laboratory environment. The authors present a compact atom interferometer that measures acceleration and rotation simultaneously and at a high rate, to be used in a dynamic environment for real-time integration of a vehicle's equations of motion.
To increase the measured phase of an atom interferometer and improve its sensitivity, researchers attempt to increase the enclosed space-time area using two methods: creating larger separations between the interferometer arms and having longer evolution times. However, increasing the evolution time reduces the bandwidth that can be sampled, whereas decreasing the evolution time worsens the sensitivity. In this paper, we attempt to address this by proposing a setup for high-bandwidth applications, with improved overall sensitivity. This is realized by accelerating and holding the atoms using optical dipole traps. We find that accelerations of up to 103–105{10}^{3}\text{--}{10}^{5}103–105 m/s2{\mathrm{m/s}}^{2}m/s2 can be achieved using acousto-optic deflectors to move the traps. By comparing the sensitivity of our approach to acceleration as a baseline to traditional atom interferometry, we find a substantial improvement to the state of the art. In the limit of appropriate beam and optics stabilization, sensitivities approaching ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$ (m/s2{\mathrm{m/s}}^{2}m/s2)/Hz\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}Hz​ may be achievable at 1 Hz, while detection at 1 kHz with a sensitivity an order of magnitude better than traditional free-fall atom interferometers is possible with today's systems.
The use of cold atoms in any sensor operating in a dynamic environment requires that the measurement cycle be conducted before the atom cloud escapes the interaction region. Under multiple-g accelerations it is desirable to complete measurements in millisecond time scales, particularly when laser beams are used to interrogate the atoms. In this paper, we demonstrate high-contrast atom interferometry in a vapor cell using stimulated Raman transitions at millisecond interrogation times. Laser-cooled cesium atoms are interrogated with a sequence of three Raman pulses and the interferometer phase is read out in the same region in which the atoms are trapped. Our system achieved over 70% contrast with a Doppler insensitive interferometer and over 30% contrast with a Doppler sensitive interferometer, in an environment normally considered adverse to high-contrast atom interferometry (e.g., no retroreflector stabilization and no magnetic shielding). Demonstration of an inertially sensitive atom interferometer in this environment supports the feasibility of a high-bandwidth inertial sensor using light pulse atom interferometry. Finally, we show that Raman pulse population transfer efficiency in our system is primarily limited by nonuniformity of the Raman laser intensity across the atom cloud.