Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1712.08110 · New Journal of Physics

Improving the phase response of an atom interferometer by means of temporal pulse shaping

Bess Fang, N. Mielec, Denis Savoie, Matteo Altorio, Arnaud Landragin, Rémi Geiger

Published Dec 21, 2017• 35 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study theoretically and experimentally the influence of temporally shaping the light pulses in an atom interferometer, with a focus on the phase response of the interferometer. We show that smooth light pulse shapes allow rejecting high frequency phase fluctuations (above the Rabi frequency) and thus relax the requirements on the phase noise or frequency noise of the interrogation lasers driving the interferometer. The light pulse shape is also shown to modify the scale factor of the interferometer, which has to be taken into account in the evaluation of its accuracy budget. We discuss the trade-offs to operate when choosing a particular pulse shape, by taking into account phase noise rejection, velocity selectivity, and applicability to large momentum transfer atom interferometry.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/aaa37c

Related papers

Phase response of atom interferometers based on sequential Bragg diffractions

Boris Décamps, Maxime Bordoux, J Alibert +2 more

Abstract Large momentum transfer (LMT) beam splitters are implemented in atom interferometers to increase their sensitivity. However, an LMT interferometer requires additional light pulses to modify the response function of the atom interferometer. In this paper, we develop an analytical model for the sensitivity function of LMT interferometers using sequential accelerating light pulses. We use the sensitivity function to calculate the acceleration sensitivity taking into account the pulse duration. In addition, the sensitivity to laser phase fluctuations is calculated, and we show that the pulse sequence can be engineered to mitigate the phase noise sensitivity.

arXiv:1812.03027•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Nov 14, 2018•7 citations

Impact of the π-pulse shape on the contrast of thermal Atom Interferometers

Cristian López-Monjaraz, Hellmunt Peña Vega, Karina Jiménez-García +2 more

Abstract The key role of π- and π/2-pulses in atom interferometry has been widely recognized as their efficiency affect the overall performance of atomic interferometers. The inefficiencies are evident when using thermal cloud atoms as the field interaction does not compensate for the atom velocity. Temporal pulse shaping offers a solution to this issue by balancing the effect of the temporal shape of the mirror pulse in thermal cold atom interferometry by testing pulse shapes beyond the standard rectangle including Gaussian-like, Sinc-like, optimized Band-selective Uniform Response Pure-phase family, and optimized Gaussian Cascade family. We unveiled a correlation between the π-pulse fidelity and the overall interferometer contrast function. We also found robust pulse sequences with respect to initial atom velocities that offer contrast as high as 0.7 compared to standard rectangle sequences with values of 0.2. The investigated pulse sequences offer an efficient way to improve the performance of atom interferometers, increasing the potential of thermal cold atom interferometry.

Physica Scripta•Nov 14, 2024•1 citation

Temporal pulse origins in atom-interferometric quantum sensors

Jack Saywell, Nikolaos Dedes, Max Carey +2 more

Quantum sensors based upon atom interferometry typically rely on radio-frequency or optical pulses to coherently manipulate atomic states and make precise measurements of inertial and gravitational effects. An advantage of these sensors over their classical counterparts is often said to be that their measurement scale factor is precisely known and highly stable. However, in practice the finite pulse duration makes the sensor scale factor dependent upon the pulse shape and sensitive to variations in control field intensity, frequency, and atomic velocity. Here, we explore the concept of a temporal pulse origin in atom interferometry, where the inertial phase response of any pulse can be parameterized using a single point in time. We show that the temporal origin permits a simple determination of the measurement scale factor and its stability against environmental perturbations. Moreover, the temporal origin can be treated as a tunable parameter in the design of tailored sequences of shaped pulses to enhance scale factor stability and minimize systematic errors. We demonstrate through simulations that this approach to pulse design can reduce overall sequence durations while increasing robustness to realistic fluctuations in control field amplitude. Our results show that the temporal pulse origin explains a broad class of systematic errors in existing devices and enables the design of short, robust pulses which we expect will improve the performance of current and next-generation interferometric quantum sensors.

arXiv:2510.01900•Physical Review Applied•Jan 12, 2026•1 citation

Finite-Speed-of-Light Effects in Atom Interferometry: Diffraction Mechanisms and Resonance Conditions

Christian Niehof, Daniel Derr, Enno Giese

Light-pulse atom interferometers serve as tools for high-precision metrology and are targeting measurements of relativistic effects. This development is facilitated by extended interrogation times and large-momentum-transfer techniques generating quantum superpositions of both interferometer arms on large distances. Due to the finite speed of light, diffracting light pulses cannot interact simultaneously with both arms, inducing phase perturbations that compromise the accuracy of the sensor -- an effect that becomes progressively important as spatial separations increase. For a consistent framework, we develop a theory for finite-speed-of-light effects in atom interferometers alongside with other relativistic effects such as the mass defect. Our analysis shows that their magnitude depends crucially on the diffraction mechanism and the specific interferometer geometry. We demonstrate that the velocity of the atomic cloud at the mirror pulse of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is less critical than the precise tuning of the lasers for resonant diffraction. Finally, we propose an experiment to test our predictions based on recoilless transitions and discuss mitigation strategies to reduce the bias in gravimetric applications.

arXiv:2505.02728•May 5, 2025•0 citations

Robust atom interferometry with super-Gaussian pulses against thermal velocity spread

Yujuan Liu, Ziwen Song, Tingting Lin +2 more

Abstract Laser frequency fluctuation and atomic thermal motion can lead to errors in pulse area and detuning in cold atom interferometry, thereby reducing measurement stability and fringe contrast. To address this issue, we investigate the use of super-Gaussian pulses, which are characterized by smooth temporal profiles and centralized energy distribution, in the beam-splitting and reflection stages of an atom interferometer. In this theoretical and numerical study, we compare the performance of rectangular, Gaussian, and 2nd- to 10th-order super-Gaussian pulses subject to deviations in pulse area and detuning. Our results show that both Gaussian and super-Gaussian pulses offer a significant advantage over traditional rectangular pulses, particularly under thermal conditions where velocity spread is prominent. We find that 4th-order pulses achieving up to a 87.9% improvement in contrast over rectangular pulses under realistic conditions, and while their peak performance at very low temperatures is comparable to that of Gaussian pulses, they demonstrate enhanced robustness against combined detuning and pulse area errors. These findings demonstrate that super-Gaussian pulse shaping is an effective method for enhancing the robustness of atom interferometers against errors induced by thermal motion.

arXiv:2505.15552•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Nov 19, 2025•0 citations

Low-frequency-noise diode laser for atom interferometry

Tatiana Nazarova, Christian Lisdat, F. Riehle +1 more

We investigate the influence of fast frequency fluctuations of an interrogation laser on the obtainable signal-to-noise ratio in Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometers. It is shown that the excessive high-frequency noise of diode lasers can degrade the signal-to-noise ratio significantly in an atom interferometer. To overcome these limitations, we have devised a low-noise light source by frequency filtering a diode laser in a high-finesse cavity and further amplifying the transmitted power by injection locking a solitary laser diode. When this laser source was used for atom interferometry with laser-cooled calcium atoms, the signal-to-noise ratio could be improved further by a factor of 3.5 compared with the use of the unfiltered 1 Hz linewidth laser source.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Sep 12, 2008•37 citations
We study theoretically and experimentally the influence of temporally shaping the light pulses in an atom interferometer, with a focus on the phase response of the interferometer. We show that smooth light pulse shapes allow rejecting high frequency phase fluctuations (above the Rabi frequency) and thus relax the requirements on the phase noise or frequency noise of the interrogation lasers driving the interferometer. The light pulse shape is also shown to modify the scale factor of the interferometer, which has to be taken into account in the evaluation of its accuracy budget. We discuss the trade-offs to operate when choosing a particular pulse shape, by taking into account phase noise rejection, velocity selectivity, and applicability to large momentum transfer atom interferometry.
Abstract Large momentum transfer (LMT) beam splitters are implemented in atom interferometers to increase their sensitivity. However, an LMT interferometer requires additional light pulses to modify the response function of the atom interferometer. In this paper, we develop an analytical model for the sensitivity function of LMT interferometers using sequential accelerating light pulses. We use the sensitivity function to calculate the acceleration sensitivity taking into account the pulse duration. In addition, the sensitivity to laser phase fluctuations is calculated, and we show that the pulse sequence can be engineered to mitigate the phase noise sensitivity.
Abstract The key role of π- and π/2-pulses in atom interferometry has been widely recognized as their efficiency affect the overall performance of atomic interferometers. The inefficiencies are evident when using thermal cloud atoms as the field interaction does not compensate for the atom velocity. Temporal pulse shaping offers a solution to this issue by balancing the effect of the temporal shape of the mirror pulse in thermal cold atom interferometry by testing pulse shapes beyond the standard rectangle including Gaussian-like, Sinc-like, optimized Band-selective Uniform Response Pure-phase family, and optimized Gaussian Cascade family. We unveiled a correlation between the π-pulse fidelity and the overall interferometer contrast function. We also found robust pulse sequences with respect to initial atom velocities that offer contrast as high as 0.7 compared to standard rectangle sequences with values of 0.2. The investigated pulse sequences offer an efficient way to improve the performance of atom interferometers, increasing the potential of thermal cold atom interferometry.
Quantum sensors based upon atom interferometry typically rely on radio-frequency or optical pulses to coherently manipulate atomic states and make precise measurements of inertial and gravitational effects. An advantage of these sensors over their classical counterparts is often said to be that their measurement scale factor is precisely known and highly stable. However, in practice the finite pulse duration makes the sensor scale factor dependent upon the pulse shape and sensitive to variations in control field intensity, frequency, and atomic velocity. Here, we explore the concept of a temporal pulse origin in atom interferometry, where the inertial phase response of any pulse can be parameterized using a single point in time. We show that the temporal origin permits a simple determination of the measurement scale factor and its stability against environmental perturbations. Moreover, the temporal origin can be treated as a tunable parameter in the design of tailored sequences of shaped pulses to enhance scale factor stability and minimize systematic errors. We demonstrate through simulations that this approach to pulse design can reduce overall sequence durations while increasing robustness to realistic fluctuations in control field amplitude. Our results show that the temporal pulse origin explains a broad class of systematic errors in existing devices and enables the design of short, robust pulses which we expect will improve the performance of current and next-generation interferometric quantum sensors.
Light-pulse atom interferometers serve as tools for high-precision metrology and are targeting measurements of relativistic effects. This development is facilitated by extended interrogation times and large-momentum-transfer techniques generating quantum superpositions of both interferometer arms on large distances. Due to the finite speed of light, diffracting light pulses cannot interact simultaneously with both arms, inducing phase perturbations that compromise the accuracy of the sensor -- an effect that becomes progressively important as spatial separations increase. For a consistent framework, we develop a theory for finite-speed-of-light effects in atom interferometers alongside with other relativistic effects such as the mass defect. Our analysis shows that their magnitude depends crucially on the diffraction mechanism and the specific interferometer geometry. We demonstrate that the velocity of the atomic cloud at the mirror pulse of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is less critical than the precise tuning of the lasers for resonant diffraction. Finally, we propose an experiment to test our predictions based on recoilless transitions and discuss mitigation strategies to reduce the bias in gravimetric applications.
Abstract Laser frequency fluctuation and atomic thermal motion can lead to errors in pulse area and detuning in cold atom interferometry, thereby reducing measurement stability and fringe contrast. To address this issue, we investigate the use of super-Gaussian pulses, which are characterized by smooth temporal profiles and centralized energy distribution, in the beam-splitting and reflection stages of an atom interferometer. In this theoretical and numerical study, we compare the performance of rectangular, Gaussian, and 2nd- to 10th-order super-Gaussian pulses subject to deviations in pulse area and detuning. Our results show that both Gaussian and super-Gaussian pulses offer a significant advantage over traditional rectangular pulses, particularly under thermal conditions where velocity spread is prominent. We find that 4th-order pulses achieving up to a 87.9% improvement in contrast over rectangular pulses under realistic conditions, and while their peak performance at very low temperatures is comparable to that of Gaussian pulses, they demonstrate enhanced robustness against combined detuning and pulse area errors. These findings demonstrate that super-Gaussian pulse shaping is an effective method for enhancing the robustness of atom interferometers against errors induced by thermal motion.
We investigate the influence of fast frequency fluctuations of an interrogation laser on the obtainable signal-to-noise ratio in Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometers. It is shown that the excessive high-frequency noise of diode lasers can degrade the signal-to-noise ratio significantly in an atom interferometer. To overcome these limitations, we have devised a low-noise light source by frequency filtering a diode laser in a high-finesse cavity and further amplifying the transmitted power by injection locking a solitary laser diode. When this laser source was used for atom interferometry with laser-cooled calcium atoms, the signal-to-noise ratio could be improved further by a factor of 3.5 compared with the use of the unfiltered 1 Hz linewidth laser source.